The Consequences of Honest Dialog
by jacee2u
Summary: post OOTP. Harry is back on Privet drive and receives a notebook from Hermione. When he opens it, he finds it to be a most unusual connection. Rated M for abuse, violence, implied slash, rough stuff, rape,etc. HPNT On Hiatus due to RL issues. Back soon
1. The Notebook

Notice: Harry Potter, Tom Riddle, and any other characters you may recognize in this story are the property of JKR and/or whoever had the brains, contacts, and cash (or other negotiable items) to secure the rights to them. Alas, I had the brains, just none of the other stuff.

Summary: After the events in the Dept. of Mysteries, Harry returns to Privet Drive. His own personal prison cell and supposedly "safe" house. Hermione sends him a letter and a notebook, asking him to at least write down his feelings, even if he won't talk to anyone else about it. When he starts to take her advice, he finds the muggle notebook with some unusual properties.

The Consequences of an Honest Dialogue

The Notebook

Harry Potter was back at Privet Drive after his fifth year. He had been there six days so far. Oh, joy. Stuck in prison for another summer holiday. Abusive fellow inmates, guards at all corners, watched all the time, and he got to be Uncle Vernon's one man chain gang. Up at five in the morning to cook breakfast for everyone else. If he was lucky he'd get a couple of pieces of dry toast and a glass of water out of it. Mow the yard, paint the shed, paint the fence, and weed the garden until eleven. Fix lunch for Dudley and Aunt Petunia. None for him. Back out to finish on the yard and garden until five in the afternoon. Fix dinner for all of the Dursleys, and pray to any god that might be listening that Vernon didn't get home before it was ready. If dinner was not hot on the table as he walked throught the door, time for a black eye and broken nose. Table scraps for him, if any were left after Vernon and Dudley hit the table. After every meal, do the dishes. After dinner, it was time to do the housework. Sweep, mop, dust, high dust, laundry, and do the windows. That usually went on until one in the morning. Back up at five to start all over again. No correspondence with any of his friends. He sent them out, but nothing ever returned. He didn't even know if they were still his friends after he almost led them to their deaths. Oh, yeah. And to send Hedwig to Remus with a note that says "Still alive. HJP" every three days.

During the six days he had been there, Harry had gotten a total of 14 hours sleep. Waking up the killer whale was a good way to get a broken arm. That was okay, though. At least if he wasn't asleep, he couldn't have a nightmare. To say he was depressed would be an understatement. Sirius Black, his father's and his favorite professor's best friend, Tonks' cousin, the godfather he had barely begun to know, the first person that he KNEW loved him for himself beyond all others, his only hope for getting away from this prison before he was seventeen, was gone. And the worst of it was, it was his fault.

On top of that, the one person he had respected above all others, had lied to him and kept vital information from him. Information that, if he had had it, might have made a difference. If he had known about that damned prophecy, he would have understood WHY he had to study Occlumency. If he had known about that damned prophecy, he would have known that the visions he was seeing were nothing more than a put up job by Voldemort.

If he had known about that damned prophecy, he would have... Actually, he would have probably tried to off himself and just say hello to Mum and Dad as soon as he set foot in the graveyard. Oh, he'd have done it heroicly by stepping in front of Cedric (that would be the Gryffindor way of going out), but that would just be a sham. Better he die then and there and force Riddle to an eternal half life, than to have him alive and killing people again. If he had killed himself at that point before the ritual, the enemy's blood at that point would have needed to come from Dumbledore, and there would be no way on earth that Riddle would have been able to get blood from THAT enemy in the state he was in.

Of course, that brings up the question of if that would have worked. If that damned prophecy is right, the only person that can kill me is going to be the Dark Lord. Presumably, that would be Lord Voldemort, or, as Dumb-Butt-dore insists on calling him, Tom Riddle. "Hmm... Obviously, since I had more broken bones by the age of eleven than most PRCA bull riders have in their career means that I can be hurt by anybody, just not killed; and I learned a long time ago that you'd be suprised just what you can live through. Still, it's a pleasant thought. 'Personal Service' from the Dark Lord himself. Things these days just lack that personal touch," he said to himself sarcasticly.

At that point, Hedwig flew in from her latest trip to see Remus. Suprisingly, instead of going to her cage like she normally would if there was no reply, she landed beside him and lifted her foot like she had a mesage for him. Confused, he just stared at her. Annoyed, Hedwig pecked at his hand and put her leg out to him. "Ow! Sorry girl, but you aren't carrying anything." Harry said. With a resigned look, Hedwig opened her wings and with a small hop landed on his stomach. Along with the feel of her talons, Harry felt something else touch him. A letter. As Harry groped for it, a piece of parchment revealed itself. Harry had never seen anything like it. 'I guess I'm going to have to go into the stationary store more often if they have this kind of stuff.' Harry thought to himself.

Opening the letter, he saw it was from Hermione.

_Dear Harry,_

_I wish I could write you more than this once, but unfortunately, this is the only spelled parchment that I have. The Order is intercepting any owls coming in to you at this time for your protection. I know you are greiving Sirius right now, and I also know that you are probably bottling it all up inside. That's not healthy. You need to let these emotions out, even if it's just to write it all down and read it for yourself. I've included a notebook for your use as a journal if you will please, PLEASE use it. I promise I will never ask you to allow me to read it or go snooping in it if I ever see it. Fair enough? To get it from this parchment, just say 'Notebook.'_

_Love,_

_Hermione_

'Great. Just what I need. Hermione wanting me to get my_ feelings _out and look at them. Can't she figure out that that will just make them _real_?' Harry thought disgustedly. Still Harry knew that if he didn't at least get the notebook and put it to where Hermione could see it some time or another he'd never hear the end of it. With a sigh, Harry said "Notebook."

A plain old normal looking spiral notebook was now sitting atop the parchment. 'Gotta go to the stationary store more often!' thought Harry.

The notebook was open to the first page, with the cover flipped around to the back of it. As Harry watched, the words "Hello, Harry. Care to guess who?" wrote themselves onto the page. There was something familiar to the script. He quickly dismissed all of his friends, Professor McGonagall, Professor Dumbledore, and Mafalda Hopkirk of the office of underage wizardry from the list of where he had seen the writing.

He thought for a few minutes, and then it came to him. "No! It's impossible. There is no way." Sherlock Holmes was then brought to mind. If you remove all of the possible, then the IMpossible, however unlikely, must in fact be the case. At that moment his scar began to tingle. He tried to ignore it, but it soon became an itch.

With a sigh, Harry picked up a quill. He would have to answer, or it would only get worse. "Hello Tom."

A/N: Please read and review. This plot formed while reading up on Chinese history, Machiavelli, some of the ancient empire stuff and throw in some Manipulative!Dumbledore fanfics. Weird combination, I know. It's amazing what you read at 3AM.


	2. The Deal

Notice: Harry Potter, Tom Riddle, and any other characters you may recognize in this story are the property of JKR and/or whoever had the brains, contacts, and cash (or other negotiable items) to secure the rights to them. Alas, I had the brains, just none of the other stuff.

A/N:Thanks for the reviews. Wasn't really expecting any for this particular fic. Guess it just goes to show how much I know.

As most of this will be written messages between Harry and Tom, _Harry's writing will be in italics_, and **Tom's will be in bold.**

Plot hole question of the day: Fred & George got the Maurader's Map in first year. Figure they took till christmas break to figure it out.That still leaves them with seeing some pervert named Peter Pettigrew sleeping with their older brother for 1 1/2 years, and the same pervert sleeping with their younger brother for 2 1/2 years before giving the map to Harry. Didn't they ever WONDER???? I mean they probably figured Percy was a ponce, but Ron?

The Deal

**Very good Harry. So good to speak to you at last.**

_What do you want? Last I knew, a conversation with the person that has been trying to kill you for the last 15 years was not exactly normal._

**Harry, we are not "normal," we are Wizards! We'll get to what I want. First, I thought a bit of information should be in order. **

**You and I are the only ones that can see the writing in this notebook. You will find that you can not even tell someone of it's existence nor who else is writing in it. You also cannot get rid of it now that you have replied. The notebook will find you if you are separated from it at the time I write in it. If you don't pick it up at that time, it'll just follow you around like a lost dog that you have fed some scraps. Whenever you stop, there it will be.**

**Although you are unable mention the notebook's abilities, you will still be able speak to others of any information that might pass between us now or in the future. If I were, for instance, to tell you that the Crumple Horned Snorkack's feeding grounds were in Norway instead of Sweden, you would be able to speak of it to your little blonde girlfriend. You just can't say how you got the information. My side of the notebook is the same way. There are no tracking spells or any other way to locate either of us with these notebooks. It is purely a way to communicate.**

This hit Harry hard. 'He knows about Luna? He must have pulled that bit out when he possessed me at the Ministry. Wonder what else he pulled out at that time.' He thought.

_Luna's not my girlfriend. I barely know her. Communicate? With me? With this? Why would you want to do that? How do I know this isn't a trick?_

**Simple, my dear boy. I have other ways of, shall we say, gaining your attention; but I realize that it can cause you a bit of pain when those methods are employed. At this time, that is not my intention. I just wish to have an honest conversation with you. I assure you that there is no deceit involved in this.**

_"Honest conversation?" You're out of your mind if you think I'm going to believe anything you say just because you say it's so. You ARE a "Dark Lord" after all. And I'm nobody's BOY!_

**Sorry. It was a figure of speech. Of course I don't expect you to believe me simply because I say something is true. You may verify it however you wish. In time, perhaps you can come to believe in my honesty in this matter, or not. It really makes no difference to me. Checking facts for yourself is always a wise precaution, no matter the person with whom you are dealing. Be it a politician, a banker, a Dark Lord, or even a teacher. Especially a teacher. I feel they should teach not only a subject, but how one should think for themselves. Don't you?**

Harry had no answer to that. Still, he continued on.

_Still, how do I know this isn't a trick. I know your diary tried to possess one of my friends a few years ago._

Harry's scar flared a bit. He knew Voldemort was angry about the diary and it's destruction, but it died away quickly.

**Ah, yes... The diary. That was not my fault. I was... out of the country at that time, shall we say? Oh, and I should tell you that Lucius has been properly... chastised... for that lack of discretion. I apologize for the pain of a moment ago. It was not my intention.**

_How did you get the message to me in the first place? What did you do to Hermione? I know it was her writing on the note._

**Ah, yes. the Muggleborn. Nothing drastic, I assure you. A simple polyjuice potion to allow one of my followers to impersonate the stationary store manager, sell a sheet of invisible parchment and a notebook to the girl. The manager was held for the hour and let go. It was simply a small compulsion charm on the girl to purchase this particular notebook, that particular parchment, and ask the storekeeper to enchant the notebook into the parchment, send it to you, and then to forget about it. I even arranged for her to find the 5 galleons it cost her on the street outside of the stationary store. Even now, she has no idea how you are, nor any knowledge that she has sent this to you.**

_"Muggleborn?" That doesn't sound right coming from you. Aren't you the pureblood supremacy freak? I was expecting you to call her a mudblood._

**Why would I want to do that? Her bloodlines do not bother me in the slightest, regardless of what some of my followers might think. Has Albus not told you? I am, in fact, a halfblood, even as yourself.**

Really. That was an interesting bit of information. Time to file that away for the future, and get back to the point. While he was filing, was he serious about the feeding grounds? Luna would love to know that if it were true.

_Still, how do I know this isn't the same kind of thing? That you aren't trying to possess me through this notebook as well?_

**You mean aside the fact that you have already managed to throw me out once? I'll not lie to you. That was the first time I have been unwillingly thrown out of a person's mind before, and it hurt. As a matter of fact, something is still not right.**

Hmmm. More information. 'Wonder what got screwed up in Tommy's head?' Harry thought with a bit of a smirk.

**However, as you are unsure; I will offer you a deal. Three days. Seventy two hours. Think about it. During that time, I will suppress my link to you as well as I am able, and cause you as little pain as possible. If, at the end of the three days, you do not write in the notebook, it will disappear; and we will go back to the old way of communicating. If, during those three days, you decide to accept my offer of this style of communication; simply write in the notebook. Anything at all will do.**

_I have another portion to add to the deal. Leave my friends alone. All of them. The Weasley's, the Granger's, Tonks, Remus Lupin, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Mad Eye Moody, Susan Bones. Don't attack them_.

**Very well. My forces will not attack the above named people. However, if we are attacked by them, we will defend ourselves.**

_Fair enough. I will think about it and get back with you. Or not. You will know the decision either way._

With that, Harry closed the notebook. A look at the clock on the bedside table told him he had three hours to sleep before he had to get breakfast ready. With a groan, he took off his glasses and lay back on the bed. He needed to think about this "deal" with the devil. He had three days to accept or deny it. His intentions were to use the three hours to come to a conclusion. Suprisingly, he was unable to last more than five minutes before he was out like a light and slept well for the first time since Sirius went through the Veil.

**--------------**

With an evil smile, Tom Marvolo Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort closed the notebook. This was going even better than planned. Dumbledore would live to regret not allowing the boy to speak to anybody. Potter is so desperate for human interaction, he'll even talk to his worst enemy; and that would be his downfall.

After all, the ancient Chinese wizard Sun Tzu put it perfectly. "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle."

Lord Voldemort was certain that he knew himself. Now, all he needed to know was how the mind of one Harry James Potter worked. And the fool was going to tell him exactly that, and be happy to do so in the bargain.

A/N: There ya go. There's the second chapter. Let me know what you think so far.


	3. Agreement and Acceptance

Notice: Harry Potter, Tom Riddle, and any other characters you may recognize in this story are the property of JKR and/or whoever had the brains, contacts, and cash (or other negotiable items) to secure the rights to them. Alas, I had the brains, just none of the other stuff.

A/N: How about this, another update. Ah, all in the thrilling life of an insomniac nocturnal American. Plot hole for the day: Why didn't Harry and/or his teachers just call in the DFS at age 7 or 8 or so? I know in the States, they run Child Abuse Hot line PSAs all the time. Also, teachers are supposed to be able to recognize the symptoms. God knows they have enough classes about it for a public school teacher.

Modification of the Agreement and Acceptance

Harry woke up at five as normal feeling surprisingly refreshed. For once, no dreams of Sirius going through the Veil, or of Cedric in the graveyard, or anything else that could be remembered.

He glanced at the notebook on the way out the door, and began to think about the offer on the table. "Assuming Riddle was serious about this, all he wanted was to talk. I could always have the option of not answering. It is just a silly notebook. Wonder if I could get some concessions from him, like staying out of my head as long as we were continuing the conversation. Maybe even protecting my friends. Who knows, maybe he'll slip and actually give me some information that could help me figure out his weakness. Besides, even if he's just looking to get the damn prophecy out of me I don't have to write it down. If he stays out of my head, he can't get it anyway. For once the Old Man's playing it all close to the vest worked out. That means I can't tell him anything about the Order anyhow."

While this conversation in his head was going on, breakfast was on auto-pilot. The eggs and rashers of bacon were on the stove, the potatoes had been peeled and shredded for the hash browns, and the sausage for tomorrow's breakfast was out of the freezer and thawing.

"Now, for the negatives. Dumb-Butt-dore would go mental. Hmm. Maybe that would be a positive. Serve the conniving S.O.B. right. Hermione and Ron would think I had gone off the deep end. Remus and Sirius would tell me I've gone nutters. Of course, I can't talk to Sirius anymore, and Remus refuses to even talk to me when he's on guard. The only ones I know for sure that have been on guard are Dung, Mad Eye, and Tonks. Dung because he always reeks of whatever liquor fell off the back of a truck, Mad Eye because his leg makes a different sound when it hits the ground, and Tonks, well, Tonks because she can't walk and chew gum at the same time." A small smile lit his face at that thought. The breakfast preparation was finishing just as Vernon and Petunia came down the stairs. Harry quickly grabbed four slices of toast and stuffed them into his pockets.

"Well, maybe I have gone mental. If I do this, I should probably keep the notebook with me all of the time if the damned thing just shows up on me at an inopportune moment. Like the shower or in the rain or something like that. I don't know what kind of anti-wetness charms it might have on it. Maybe I should think about this some more later."

A look out the window showed that it was raining today, and the radio in the kitchen said it would continue all day. Harry saw Vernon look up from his feed trough and grunt out "Boy, looks like you have the day off from painting and mowing the yard. Why don't you clean out the shed and garage and then you can have the afternoon off."

'What a bloody pig,' Harry thought. All he said was "Yes, Uncle Vernon. I thought I would go to the park later, if that is all right."

"Whatever, freak. Just don't do anything weird while you're out or they'll be taking your sorry ass out of here in a body bag. And don't be late getting home to fix my dinner!" Vernon growled as he headed out the door for work.

After cleaning out the shed and the garage, Harry was more than ready for a bit of air and the rainwater felt cool and clean on his dusty body. Harry took off as at a jog along the sidewalk, listening to the splashes of his trainers in the puddles. He quickly heard a second set of feet following him. A glance back showed puddles splashing without anything hitting them. There was a larger than normal splash and the sound of female cursing. Harry grinned. This could be fun.

Turning the corner onto Wisteria, Harry quickly dropped down behind the hedge and waited. Just as the invisible watcher rounded the corner, Harry jumped out, grabbed the invisible person where he thought her shoulders would be and yelled "Wotcher Tonks!" and pulled her back into the hedge with him. He tripped and Tonks landed on top of him. While falling, the cloak slipped off her head and onto her shoulders. Suddenly, Harry realized that it wasn't her shoulders he had in his hands.

"Merlin, Harry! You just about got yourself hexed into next week!"

"Sorry, Tonks. I just wanted to play a little joke on you."

"Well, you got me. Now, I have three questions for you. The first is do you know what to do with me now that you have me? The second is is that a wand in your front pocket or are you just happy to see me? And the third is do you mind shifting your grip a bit? I'm not used to being pulled around by my nips." Tonks said with a cheeky grin.

Harry blushed deeply and quickly took his hands off the young auror's breasts. "Well, as to your first question, I have a fair idea, and have been told I've always been good at picking things up as I go. To the second, my wand is in my back pocket like always, even though Mad Eye keeps telling me I'm going to blow a butt cheek off, and I'm really sorry about the third. I was going for your shoulders."

"No problem, Harry. Thank you for letting go of the girls though. They don't mind a bit of rough stuff occasionally, but I'm not into having them yanked that hard." Tonks rolled off of Harry and looked at him.

She was going to stand up, but decided to play with the boy 'No, definitely a young MAN now. I just felt how grown up he's becoming' for a minute before getting up. "You need to be careful with that wand of yours there, Harry. Felt like nine and a half inches of wood against my arse there. You could hurt someone with a wand like that."

Harry's facial skin tone was now the color of a stop sign, and all he could get out was "Uh... Uh... Um..."

"Relax a bit, Harry. Just having some payback. Now, for the lecture. You should know that ambushing the people that are looking out for you is a baaaddd thing. If anything happened while you are yanking me into the bushes here, neither one of us would be in any condition to put up any kind of a fight. That's a good way for you to end up dead! Lecture over."

Harry's face went from red to white. The grin on his face immediately shifted to a scowl because of the thought of that damned prophecy as much as the fact that Tonks was yelling at him.

"Yeah, like that's even a possibility, thanks to the Old Man," Harry muttered under his breath.

"What was that, Harry?" Tonks asked, a concerned look on her face.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing, Tonks. Just thinking out loud. Listen, I'm just going to run a few laps around the park. You can just stand in the covered pavilion and watch me instead of running in the rain after me. I'll meet up with you before I head back to the house. It's open all the way around, so you can see me the entire time."

"Thanks, Harry. That will work out well. The only reason I'm the one following you is because I am the only one that can even keep close to you when you start your runs. Now I can come back fresh as a daisy and tease the hell out of Kingsley and Hestia."

"Oh, are those my other spies today?" Harry asked bitterly.

"Harry, we are there for your safety!" Tonks said, shocked.

"Whatever. I'll see you when I get done with my run." With that, he took off.

Harry picked up speed as he hit the block with the park, anger fueling his muscles. As he ran, he was muttering to himself. "Bloody damned prophecy." Another lap, and the pace picked up. "Bloody frigging old conniving bastard." Another lap, and the pace picked up again. "Bloody stupid gullible twits." Another lap, and yet again a pick up in speed. "Bloody worthless suck up friends." Another lap, and, amazingly enough, the pace was increased. Harry was running full out now. "Bloody fucking life!"

Harry maintained this speed for another five laps, repeating his curses. In the pavilion, Tonks was amazed. She had never seen anybody run that fast for that long. She had pulled out a pair of omnioculars as soon as she reached the pavilion.

When she saw him chanting, she quickly performed a charm to allow him to hear what Harry was saying. She was shocked. "Prophecy? What's he talking about? I thought it was lost." Harry didn't sound too stable right now. He sounded depressed and royally pissed off at the Albus, the Order, his friends, and life in general. Maybe she should call Albus about this before just reporting it at the end of the shift.

At the end of his ten laps, Harry cut to the center of the park and said "Okay, Tonks. I'm done. What time is it?"

"About two thirty, Harry," a disembodied voice answered.

"Good. I have about an hour before I have to be home to start dinner for the horse, the pig, and the old boar." Harry said. "Care to have a talk?"

"I'm not supposed to, Harry. I'm supposed to be guarding you. Not to mention it will look strange if I just suddenly appear." Tonks sounded genuinely sorry.

"Well, you don't have to take the cloak off, Tonks. Everybody in the area thinks I'm criminally insane anyway. Talking to myself in the park won't hurt my reputation any. I just haven't had a chance to talk to anybody since I got off the train." Harry sounded pretty bitter.

"Sorry, but I've got my orders, Harry. I'm supposed to guard you and keep you from harm."

"Keep me from harm? Keep me from HARM? Where the hell were you when Dudley decided to use me for a punching bag? Or when that fat fucking pig decided to break my nose and three ribs when we got home? Or the black eyes from when I'm late with dinner? Or when Dudley knocked me off the stairs into the living room because I happened to be going up the stairs while he was going down? How about when I'm being fucking starved right in front of your fucking face? You might be guarding me, but don't try to bullshit me by saying you are trying to KEEP ME FROM HARM! Right now I wouldn't trust you to keep a four foot block of steel from being harmed. Oh, and you can forget about being fresh as a fucking daisy when you get back. Catch up when you can!" With that, Harry took off, if anything faster than when he was running laps in the park.

Tonks sighed and; feeling like a complete and total failure, started after the boy as quickly as she could.

When Harry got home, he immediately went in the house and began cleaning. 'That did it. Tonks just sealed the deal for me. I'm going to agree to talk to Tom.' Harry got the dusting and high dusting completed, as well as the upstairs bathroom and bedrooms taken care of before time to stop to start on Vernon's dinner.

Between the head start on the housework and his anger, Harry got back to his bedroom before ten o'clock that night.

He immediately picked up the notebook and started writing in it.

_Tom. How about a bit of negotiation. You keep the link between us closed, and not attack the following people, and I will agree to talk to you: _

_The Grangers, all of the Weasleys, the Bones, the Abbotts, the Tonks', the Shacklebolts, and Remus Lupin. _

_I realize that some of these people may come after you if you are attacking somewhere else. Defending yourself against them in that case is okay. Just no outright attacks on them. _

_If these terms are acceptable, I agree to talk with you. If either of us asks a question the other doesn't want to answer (like say, what are your plans for attacking Diagon Alley) then we say we aren't going to answer that particular question, and go on. I will write to you within seventy two hours of the time that you write to me, and I request that you do the same. This will give each of us time to check our facts as well as we might be able._

_-Harry_

Thinking that would be the best deal he could possibly get, Harry closed the notebook, set it on his desk, and crawled into bed, hoping against hope for a second night in a row of dreamless sleep.


	4. After the Park

Notice: Harry Potter, Tom Riddle, and any other characters you may recognize in this story are the property of JKR and/or whoever had the brains, contacts, and cash (or other negotiable items) to secure the rights to them. Alas, I had the brains, just none of the other stuff.

After the Park

Tonks had hurried to try to at least keep Harry in sight. It stunned her that the young man who had just ran the equivalent of six miles in under thirty minutes would have the ability to out pace her so badly. Maybe the Order should look for someone from the Nigerian Olympic team to be a guard. As Tonks swung onto Privet Drive, she was just in time to see and hear the door slam at #4.

When Tonks got back to #4 herself, she had a quiet chat with Kingsley and Hestia; making sure that Harry got back and that it actually was him going though the door.

"Yeah, that was him coming back that you heard. That boy is seriously pissed off." Kingsley said when Tonks asked about it. "Funny. He seemed like he was okay when he left here earlier. Did anything happen to him at the park?"

Tonks paused a moment before answering her friend and fellow auror. She knew the first rule for surveillance was 'Never talk to your target.' She could just see Kingsley reading her the riot act if she told him the entire story. She also knew that she was now yet another reason (albeit unwittingly) that Harry was upset. She obviously had a few things to think about in her relationships with Harry, the Order, and Albus.'I think I'll keep this to myself until I can check some facts.'

"No, He ran ten laps around the park and then came back. When he was close enough, it looked like he was saying something over and over again, but I just put it down to a cadence to keep the running rhythm going. I'm going to get back to my post."

Once back on the other side of the house, Tonks settled down for a good, hard, thinking session. According to Albus, the blood wards should keep the Death Eaters or anyone else who wished to harm Harry from being able to gain access to the lot known as #4 Privet Drive. She was here to keep the Death Eaters from kidnapping Harry and to keep him from being hurt, wasn't she? According to Harry, she had failed in that last part miserably. According to the above statements from Albus, there was no need for her to be watching Harry, except when he left the property.

Why then, would Harry need three guards, all under orders not to speak to him, but to report his actions to the headmaster? How would Vernon and Dudley Dursley be able to have access to the property if they were going to harm Harry? Maybe it was just for wizards and witches that wanted to hurt him. As an auror and daughter of a muggleborn, Tonks knew that you could die just as easily from a rock to the back of the head as an Unforgivable curse.

What was it that Harry had yelled at her? Broken bones when he got back from the train station? As well as beatings when he was late with dinner? Starved? He looked fine when she spoke with him. A bit on the thin side, but other than that, no indication of a problem. No bruises on the face, nose straight. If he could run like that with broken ribs, what would he be like without them? Maybe she should check into that. Maybe he had some healing potions in his trunk from while he was at school. The only thing she knew for sure was that he wasn't lying about it. You don't lie while in full blown rant mode like he was.

Her thoughts stayed with her until the relief team consisting of Mad Eye Moody, Dung Fletcher, and Remus Lupin arrived. After giving them the basic report of "Still inside, went to the park for a run, came back and went back inside. Hasn't left." Tonks asked Alastor, "Does Harry have any healing potions in his trunk? Or in his hiding place in his room?"

Alastor's eye swirled around and looked through the house. "Nope, nothing up there but a privacy journal, his broom, some clothes, and his books. The kid's gonna blow a cheek off pretty soon if he isn't careful though. Still has that damned wand in his back pocket."

"Thanks Moody." Turning to Lupin, "Remus, how has he been sleeping? Any nightmares?"

"Actually, last night was the first time that I have seen him NOT have a nightmare since he got back. Usually they wake him up around three or so. It might have something to do with the fact that he didn't get to bed until about two in the morning though. Moody said he spent a lot of time writing in that journal of his. I sure hope that it helps him. Why do you ask?" Remus was worried about his best friend's son. He knew that Harry had a lot on his mind. He may have had some doubts about what Dumbledore might be asking of Harry in the future, but was sure that it was for the best. After all, Albus Dumbledore was the greatest wizard since Godric Gryffindor, wasn't he?

"Oh, just wondering. He seemed very angry today when he was running, and still was when he returned. I've never seen anyone run like him before." Tonks evaded. 'Hmm. No potions. Every night at three. I wonder...' While thinking this, she looked at everyone and said "Well, I better be going. Gotta get ready for a hot date." With that, she started off to the apparation point between the shed and the wall. A moment later there was a slight _'Pop' _and she was gone.

Tonks did not have a date that night. It was just a good excuse to get away from everyone. Remus had decided to pull his 'Broken down old werewolf' routine to push her away one too many times. She decided she didn't need his drama in her love life right now. She worked with him in the Order, and wished him the best, well, second best. It just got to be annoying to throw yourself at someone, they seem to catch the hint, and just when things were going good, he'd bail out on her yet again. There's only so much a girl's ego can take. Even when you are incredibly beautiful, talented, and fun to be around. This always brought a smirk to her face.

Where she went was to the Ministry of Magic. Specifically, to Mafalda Hopkirk's domain. The Department of Underage Magic kept track of all magic by witches and wizards under the age of seventeen. Their sensors could tell whether it was intentional or accidental, and if intentional, what spell it was. If it was accidental or wandless, they could generally tell the type of spell and the power of the magic released.

"Wotcher Fletch!" Tonks greeted Fletcher Pratt, a fellow Ravenclaw as she walked through the door to the Department.

"Hey Tonks. Long time no see. Finally decide to take me up on that standing offer of marriage?" Fletcher Pratt had told her in his second year that he was madly, deeply, head-over-heels in love with her and that she would always have the option to marry him. The only trouble was that Tonks was a fifth year at the time. They still grew to be good friends, surprisingly enough, and it was now a long standing joke between the two of them.

"Sorry, no can do right now, Fletch. I do need to hit you up for a small favor, though. Can you tell me any magic that has taken place in the last say, ten days at #4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey?" Tonks asked.

"Hang on a sec. Gotta get the file." With that, Fletch disappeared into the back office. As he came back, Tonks saw a monstrous file in his hand. "Wow. Harry Potter? Don't tell me I've been jilted for a younger man. I've never seen a file this large on a kid before, though. Let's do some checking."

"Let's see... Two offenses of underage use of magic, one in... 1992, and the other just last year. Seems like the first was cake levitation, and the second was... a Patronus charm? Both dropped. Everything else seems to have been wandless or accidental. Yup. Six of them in the past eight days. Seems to be some kind of healing magic, earliest was at two forty seven in the morning and the latest at three thirty one, also in the morning. A couple of them pretty high level too. Don't know too many people that can pump that kind of power into a healing charm myself."

"What about the rest of this mess? Are they all the same?" Tonks was wondering what was going on at this point. According to the reports, there was never anyone around at that time of night for Harry or anyone else to be doing any unspecified healing spells.

Fletch did some random checks. "Pretty much, all in the middle of the night. All the way back to... November of 1984. What the hell is going on at that place?"

Tonks looked her friend in the eye and said "I have no idea, but I intend to find out."

"Hey Tonks, I've seen that look in your eye before. You had it when you were looking at Charlie Weasley like he was a dessert. Go easy on the kid. I don't think he can handle you."

"What are you talking about. He's just a person I'm doing surveillance on. Besides, I can be discrete!"

Fletch started laughing at this statement. "Oh, sure! Nymphadora Tonks, Miss Purple and Pink Hair herself! Discrete! The nearest you ever got to being discrete was when your hair was blue and bronze, and that was only on the quidditch pitch!"

"Fletch! Take that back! Take it back or I'll hex you into next week!"

"What? Your hair was always wild colors. Usually cycling through them and clashing as much as possible!"

"Not that, you prat! You said my first name!" Tonks declared as she put her wand under his chin.

"Oh! Sorry, Tonks. It just slipped out." Fletch said with a grin.

"Besides, I DON'T have a thing for Harry Potter. I just meant that I could find this out without him knowing about it." Tonks huffed.

"Damn. And there goes the money Teen Witch Weekly was going to pay for an interview with Harry Potter's latest girlfriend down the tubes." Fletch looked at Tonks mock-sorrowfully. "Are you SURE you won't reconsider being his girlfriend? For me? I'll even split the galleons with you!" Fletch had to duck as the wand was out and the hex went right where his head would have been.

"Good BYE Fletch. Thanks for the info, even if I don't quite know what to make of it yet. I owe ya one."

"That's okay. I'll wait till you owe me enough to make good on my offer!" Fletch called to her has she walked out the door.

Tonks now had a puzzle on her mind. She just didn't know if she would ever get all of the pieces to it. She headed back to her flat for dinner, a very stiff drink, and a lot of thinking.

A/N: Seemed like a good time to get another part of the plot line going. What did you think? please r&r. If there were spelling mistakes on this, I tried. Unfortunately at work the most advanced word processor I have is WordPad. No spellcheck. Ack.


	5. Revelations in Teaching Styles

Notice: I own none of the characters and places in this fanfic. As all of this appears to currently be taking place in the U.K., I haven't even been to the area to see if said people and places exist. Any likeness to people or places in real life are purely coincidental. The characters and places are mostly owned by JKR and/or her associates. If your initials are HJP and have TMR currently or previously after your hide to be hung up on a wall, sue HER. You'll get money that way. Lots of it. If this happens, then you can drop me a few galleons.

A/N: As a lot of this will be written conversation between HJP & TMR, _Harry's writing will be in italics_, and **Tom's will be bold.**

Revelations in Teaching Styles

The quiet of the early morning in the sleepy suburb of Little Whinging was pierced by screams as Harry sat up in bed, breathing hard and trying to figure out where he was. That question was answered when his Uncle's voice came though the door. "Shut up in there freak! If you want to scream I'll give you something to scream about!"

This nightmare was not quite the same as normal. In his dream, his godfather was dueling Headmaster Dumbledore, laughing and taunting as he did so. The Headmaster sent the stunner at him that knocked him through the Veil. Then Remus stepped up, and another stunner sent him through the Veil as well. Luna was next. Unlike the others, she didn't wait to be knocked through the Veil. She just stepped up, and said "Coming Mum!" and jumped; looking for all the world like she was a little girl jumping into her mothers arms.

The ancient looked at him, and with his eyes twinkling said, "Come now, Harry. It's time to go. I'll tell the world that I took care of Tom the same way that I dealt with Octavius. I know you never did enjoy your fame."

Harry couldn't move. He felt his body float up and begin towards the Veil of Death feet first. As his body floated onto the stage and towards the Veil, he was turned on his side and there were all of the people he had ever met in wizarding Britain. All of the witches and wizards that had singled him out, saying how honored they were to meet him. The ones who had believed that he was the savior of the world, and then the newest Dark Lord. The ones who had decided to depend on a child to take care of their problems for them. The ones that believed every word the press had printed about him, even when they printed contradictory articles in the same edition. The fangirls and the Howlers.

They were all there. Standing around the arena, shouting encouragement to the man who had defeated not one, but two Dark Lords. The cold feeling of death crept over him as his body passed under the archway, and into the curtain. Just as his eyes were about to close for the final time, he woke up.

The notebook had been sitting on his chest. Now, it was sitting between his feet. Opening it, he saw that Riddle had written back to him.

**I find your deal to be acceptable. I would like make note that I cannot be held responsible for an accidental attack. If I decide to attack the Ministry, I can't wait necessarily wait until these people are not there. Unfortunately, collateral damage is considered a part of war. In World War II, the muggles could not always wait for all of the buildings they were going to bomb to be empty. Fair enough?**

_I thought you said you weren't going to be sending me any dreams!_

**Ah, Good morning Harry. I didn't. I have closed down my side of the connection between us as best I am able. If you are having dreams, it was A) somehow sent by some one else, B) a divining or precognitive dream, or C) your subconscious trying to bring something to your attention that needs to be worked out.**

_Oh. Sorry for jumping to conclusions. Must have just been a normal one then. I guess I just assumed that since I didn't have one last night, that I would no longer have any._

**No, I am afraid that you may only hold me partially accountable for any nightmares you may have had tonight. I will take responsibility for playing my part, but yourself and others must also bear some of the responsibility. Your choices bring you into situations wherein the actions happen. My choices do the same. Others either place themselves into the situation, or are controlling the information on which all of our choices are based.**

'Controlling the information?' That had a very familiar sound to it.

_Okay, I get the responsibility for our own actions, but what do you mean about 'controlling the information?'_

**Information is a form of power. Those who know what is going to happen will use their information to shape circumstances about a confrontation to bring about the best possible outcome for themselves. This outcome may not necessarily be the best for everyone else, or even the parties of the confrontation itself. **

**Imagine it in the terms of wizard's chess. You advance a pawn to threaten my rook, so I take it with my knight, which is then taken by your bishop, which is taken by my queen. This outcome is to MY benefit, but not necessarily to the benefit of my knight, which was destroyed in the confrontation.**

_Oh, Duh. I knew that. I guess that I wasn't thinking too straight given that I was just awakened._

**No problem, Harry. I was almost asleep when I knew you had been awakened rather badly.**

_How did you know that if you shut down the link between us?_

**I said that I shut down MY side of the link as best I am able, through Occlumency. Unfortunately, it appears that we are connected in such a way that we BOTH send and receive information from each other. Your awakening from the nightmare was such that it was like a knocking on my shields. Enough to know that it had happened, not enough to be able to be considered an attack. I would have thought that Albus had informed you of this prior to now. I must say that Rookwood would have loved to have had a chance to study this unique ability of ours closer.**

_Well, he sort of did. He told me I needed to study occlumency, but I appear to be worse at that than I am divination. I could never clear my mind enough to even begin to create a shield before I was attacked. I don't even know HOW to clear my mind._

**Ahh. That sounds like Severus' teaching style. Great potions master, passable occlumens, rubbish at teaching. Especially when he holds a grudge against a person that looks just like you.**

_Yeah, that sounds about right. At least the rubbish at teaching part. So now I have not only my allies, but my enemies telling me I need to study occlumency. Wonderful._

**At this point, given our current agreement, I don't know if we are enemies or not.**

_Well, I don't happen to consider you one of my best mates!_

**Perhaps not, but there are stages in between. Aquaintances, perhaps? By the way, clearing your mind is not hard to explain. It is not easily accomplished at first, but it is easy to understand. Find an object, any object and stare at it. As any thoughts enter your mind, lock them away. Continue until it is empty. A candle in a darkened room always worked best for me. After you get used to doing it with a physical object to look at, shift to simply envisioning the object. As you do this, you will find that clearing your mind becomes faster, until it is second nature.**

_THAT'S IT? That greasy GIT! TWO MINUTES! TWO GODDAMNED MINUTES!! I'm going to hex his greasy head so far up his ruddy arse hole the next time I see him he'll have to undo his fly to eat!_

**Ah, Yes. It definately was Severus that was your teacher. You probably didn't realize it, but this is the same first step for all of the mind sciences. Occlumency, Legilimency, Astral Projection, Borrowing, Animagus transformations, Magesight and even Divination to name a few. I must warn you, though. This does have the effect of allowing your subconscious to bring up more dreams, and you will remember the dreams better while waking as well.**

Upon reading this, Harry started to curse quietly. Trelawney, instead of getting high as a kite, should have told him how to clear his mind. Snape, instead of going through his memories like a bull in a china shop, could have told him how to clear his mind. ANYBODY could have told him how to do it. And it took his enemy to do so.

_Great, more nightmares._

**Yes, unfortunately. However, if they are understood, the nightmares lose their power over you. Your muggleborn friend that I um... borrowed was in fact, quite correct. Writing them down in a notebook will help you to come to terms with them if they are divining dreams or from your subconscious. If nothing else, you can try to figure out if you have some untapped power of precognition that you didn't know about.**

_"Borrowed?" Don't you mean used and threw away like a piece of toilet paper?_

**Harry! Please, I caused no harm to the girl, and she doesn't remember any of it. She didn't even have to spend any of her own money. She and her parents are out nothing. If I wished to cause her harm, I could have used the imperious curse to perform this action, had her father rape and torture her, then sealed her house and torched it. I could even have trapped you in my mind while it was all going on in order to watch it "live and in person" as it were.**

**I did not do this because I knew that she was special to you, and felt that such actions would be counterproductive to our current aim of conversation. I can be ruthless in my persuits, but I do not unnecessarily cause harm if it can be avoided.**

A shudder went through Harry as he watched the words of one of his worst nightmares form on the paper.

_Ugh. I did not need to necessarily see you write that._

**Well, I did say HONEST conversation. It's something that I find I can have too little of. It requires respect on both sides to be able to speak honestly. No pulling punches. No lies. If the conversation goes to forbidden ground then it gets dropped, but neither one of us cares for liars or fools.**

_Yeah, Merlin knows I'm really tired of being lied to by people that are trying to "help me." Look, I'm starting to get tired again, so I'm calling it a night. I would like to write more to you later._

_-Harry_

**That will be fine. Good night.**

**-Tom**

Harry closed the notebook and thought about his strange conversation. Well, I guess that I might as well try what he wrote about clearing my mind. He stared at the glowing lightswitch by the door. Slowly, his waking thoughts drifted down and out of his psyche. He knew nothing beyond that point until Vernon was pounding on his door for him to start breakfast.

----

Tom closed the notebook with a hint of a smile. True, he'd had to give up a bit of information, but a quick look in any of the numerous books on any of those subjects mentioned, or even into muggle psychology, yoga, martial arts, and a multitude of others would have yielded much the same information. More importantly, he'd gotten a bit more of an insight into the person that had the power to destroy him, and perhaps gained a bit of trust from him.


	6. Memory Charms that Harm

Notice: Harry Potter, Tom Riddle, and any other characters you may recognize in this story are the property of JKR and/or whoever had the brains, contacts, and cash (or other negotiable items) to secure the rights to them. Alas, I had the brains, just none of the other stuff.

Memory Charms that Harm

Nymphadora Tonks did a lot of thinking that night after she returned from her meeting with Fletch. The next morning at work, she decided it was time to think like an Auror. List off the facts:

1. Harry is obviously pissed off at Dumbledore.

2. There were at least 500 sheets of parchment in Fletch's files. 6 charges of "accidental high level healing magic" per page. That's 3000. Merlin!

3. They were all between 2:30 and 3:30 in the morning, therefore they must be being performed on himself.

4. Harry is 15, soon to be 16. 3000 nights of healing magic, means that it could have flared every night straight for over 8 years. MERLIN! That's every other day for his entire life.

5. Take away the 45 months at Hogwarts, and 15 months he was with his parents, that's 5 years. Total time of needing healed, 10 years. Eighty percent of the kid's life with these arseholes and he's been injured bad enough every day for his magic to have to keep him alive.

6. The Order guardians are under orders not to speak to Harry.

7. The guardians are to report all of Harry's activities to Dumbledore.

8. The guardians are not to enter the house under any circumstances. This means being unable to protect their charge from the Dursleys.

Now, time to list off the questions:

1. Does Dumbledore know about the abuse of one of his students?

2. If so, why would Dumbledore condone the abuse?

3. Why is the Order there to "protect" Harry, but not speak to him, or protect him from his "family?"

4. Why is the Order shutting down all communication between Harry and the outside Wizarding World?

The facts didn't add up to anything that made sense to Tonks. She needed to have the answers to the questions, and probably a lot more in order for any of this to make sense.

Standard respect for Albus Dumbledore would be to assume the following: He did not know about or condone the abuse of Harry. Communication was shut down to prevent anything upsetting him. But why not keep Vernon and Dudley from getting their sick kicks of beating up a kid that weighed in at less than half of the smallest of the two?

The "Alistor Moody CONSTANT VIGILANCE" approach would assume the following: Assume that he does know and condone the abuse, the kid was being given the "mushroom treatment" of being kept in the dark and fed bullshit, if he was receiving anything at all. Still, it doesn't explain the WHY.

Nothing to do but to ask the one person that might know. Time to take a page from Harry and Mad-eye, though. Time for some insurance. Now, who to trust. Sirius would have been the perfect one. He actually cared about Harry as a person. Shack? Maybe, but a bit too good at just following orders. If Albus said shit, and Kingsley would be squatting before asking how deep the pile was going to need to be. Moody? Maybe, but then she'd never get her insurance back. McGonagall? Albus' through and through. Same problem with Arthur and Molly. They may love Harry like a son, but they still see him as a BOY, with no say in his future, and no choice in what should be done with him. Remus. No. Not even. Can't do the ex-boyfriend thing yet.

That left Mum. She's not in the Order, so no one would suspect her. She may not even know Harry, but she didn't need to tell her _what_ she was needing to do, just ask her to hold something for a day or two, and then send it to her. If she didn't need it because there was a perfectly logical explanation, all well and good. If things went pear shaped, it could be the difference that she needed. If things went completely out of control, Mum could get to the information and maybe things could still be salvaged. Definately been listening to Mad-Eye too much.

Now, for the information she had, and what to do if it got wiped out. A set of Harry's file from Fletch. Ick. That'll probably cost her at least a lunch, probably a full date; complete with a good night kiss to curl his toes. Harry better appreciate the things she was going to have to do for him. A complete copy of the memories that started this mess. Getting caught, the jogging, and getting yelled at. Especially getting yelled at. Probably want a hard copy of that as well as the memory. A copy of the conversation with Fletch. A copy of the conversation with Andromeda. Probably better pull those last two completely out of my head. No sense getting a good source hurt. Don't even think about Mum getting hurt. A copy of her list of facts and questions. A note to herself, explaining what was going on.

That's quite a bit of stuff. Probably be best to get a short term safe deposit vault at Gringott's, and just give Mum the key and the note for her to give back to me. Better get started on the note before I do anything else.

_Tonks,_

_This is probably going to look rather stupid, writing notes to yourself, but oh, well. If you have to read this to know that something pear shaped happened, then you REALLY need to take this key down to Gringotts and deal with the information that is in this vault. Best guess would be someone obliviated you. After you take a look in the vault, it should become obvious as to the perp. You suspected something and gave this to Mum to send to you a day after your meeting with the suspect._

_NT_

Tonks decided that would work as well as she could come up with for now, and dropped it in an envelope. It didn't list who it is, just that she needed to recheck the evidence she had gathered to date. Let her other self figure it out for herself from the evidence. Next were the reports of her discussion with Harry at the park.

It was getting close to lunch time when she finished the report. Now, for the copy of Harry's file. Time to go make nice to Fletch, she thought with a grin.

After work, she stopped back by Fletch's office to pick up her slightly illegal copy of Harry's file. At least Fletch was a gentleman that had only wanted lunch and a kiss on the cheek. Even if she DID have to pay for it.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Gringott's was next. When she reached the teller, she set up the safe deposit vault. When she returned, she was suprised to find a notice of probate waiting for her.

"What's this?"

"What's it look like, bi - er, witch?" the teller snarled at her.

"It looks like a notice of a will reading set for three days from now." She said. "Why didn't I get a notice of this by owl?"

"Our records show that your mail is currently being forwarded to c/o Albus Dumbledore, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was returned unopened."

"That conniving old bastard. His mother only named him Dumbledore because that was the only one she remembered from the gangbang." Tonks muttered under her breath. Aloud, she asked "Who else was notified and who was returned?"

"Hmm. Albus Dumbledore's, Narcissa and Draco Malfoy's were received, and Remus Lupin and Harry Potter's were also returned for the same reason."

"Okay, and who ordered the change of mail forwarding?"

"Let's see. Here it is. It was signed 'By order of the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot.'"

"That old man just signed his last change of address." Tonks muttered. "I need to go back down to that vault. Thank you for your assistance." With that, Tonks stalked back to the cart and hopped back in. Time to add some new information to her list, and some questions as well.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Her last stop off was at Ted and Andromeda Tonk's home - her home, for eighteen years - for a bite of dinner, and to drop off of the key and the note. The tricky part would be how much to tell her. If she played it as possible evidence for an auror, she would wonder why it was going to her, and not to be sealed at the office. If she told her that it was something else, she might suspect something shady. If she told her the truth, that she suspected that the greatest wizard of our age was condoning and approving of the abuse of The Boy Who Lived, her Mum would have her at the long care ward of St. Mungo's in the bed next to Gilderoy Lockhart.

While they were eating, Tonks brought up her request. "Mum, I need you to do me a favor. Can you direct owl me this package tomorrow night? It's something personal I don't want lost, and I'm going into Knockturn Alley on patrol tomorrow." She asked while she pulled the envelope out of her cloak.

"Nymphadora, you shouldn't be going anywhere near that Alley. It's too dangerous."

"Mum, don't _call _me that. You know I hate that name. Besides, it's my job. I just don't want to have that on me when I'm going though there in case I pull one of my famous back flip trips on a perfectly flat surface."

"I don't know why you dislike your name so much. We spent weeks arguing over the correct name for you. Your father wanted to call you Sally Jesse Raphael."

"Irk. Well, I guess you're right. You have finally proven to me that there truly _are_ worse things to be called."

"Thank you, dear. See, your mother knows best."

"That still doesn't mean I like my name. It just happened to be the lesser of two evils. Well, Mum? Would you mind mailing that back to me in two days?"

"Yes, dear. I will. I still don't see why you have to be an auror, though. You should be settled down and giving me lots of nice little grandbabies by now."

"Muuuum!" Tonks whined. "I haven't found the right guy yet. Do you know how depressing it is when they want me to change how I look for them? One guy even wanted me to look exactly like his mother! Do you have any idea of just how _**gross**_ that is?"

"I do see your point, Nymphadora. That is rather disgusting. Please tell me that you are at least trying to look for someone?"

"Yes, Mum." She sighed. "Now, all I have to do is somehow get him to notice me."

"Why is that? He's not a ponce, is he?"

"No, definately not that, just that every time he looks at me, it's as if he's looking right through me." she said. 'Of course, usually you were wearing an invisibility cloak at the time,' a nasty little voice in her head added.

"I guess you'll just have to bring yourself to his attention, won't you." Andromeda said with a smug look on her face. "Unless, of course, you want me to do it for you."

"Umm, excuse me girls, but I think the estrogen level at this table is getting just a tad bit too high for me . I think I'll go do some manly thing, like watch the telly and drink a pint or three." Ted said with a laugh as he hastily exited to the living room, with a quick stop off at the bar.

Tonks was too horrified at her mother's idea to answer her father. She could see it all too clearly in her mind's eye. Andromeda Tonks walking up the sidewalk at #4 Privet drive, knocking on the door, and barging into Harry's room. As Harry looks up, her mother saying 'Hello. You must be the young man my Nymphadora is pining away for. Now, you must marry her and give me lots and lots of grandbabies. Hurry it up, I don't have all day.' Tonks banged her head against the table a couple of times to get the scene out of her mind's eye.

"Actially, Mum. There is something else I need to do tonight, so I think I will leave this uncomfortable subject and go take care of another uncomfortable subject. Just please, whatever you do, don't forget to mail me this tomorrow night." Tonks begged. Anything to get away from her mother wanting to talk to her about kids. She wanted them, but a _long_ way down the road.

"Of course, dear. You go run along and make your boy notice you. Remember, Mum knows best!" Andromeda teased as Tonks fled the house with her ears aflame and unable to control her metamorph powers enough to shut down the blush of embarrassment.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

After Tonks calmed down enough to get rid of the blush, she apparated to just outside the ward limits of Hogwarts, walked up to the castle, and to the gargoyle at the entrance to the Headmaster's office.

"Hey, Slinker. Could you tell the Professor that I need to speak with him and that I am waiting here?" Tonks asked the gargoyle.

With a slow grinding noise, his head inclined. After a moment, the gargoyle turned away, and the steps appeared. Tonks made her way up, and found the door to the Headmaster's office to be open.

"Come in Nymphadora. What may I do for you this evening?" Albus asked, eyes twinkling in the candlelight.

"Sir, I have asked you several times not to call me by my given name. I have come with some information that I thought you might wish to know about Harry Potter."

"What might that be, Ms. Tonks? Has anything unusual happened to him?"

"Unfortunately, I wish I could say that something unusual _had_ happened to him, such as not being beaten to a pulp and having to rely on accidental magic to heal himself. Did you know that since he came to stay at #4 Privet Drive, he has experienced something like 3000 incidents of accidental healing magic? Mostly of a medium to high level? I thought that the wards around that place were supposed to keep him safe."

"I assure you, Harry is safer there than anywhere else in the world. There cannot be any reason for the accidental magic. It must just be a mistake on the equipment used to monitor the area. There have been no magical attacks in Little Whinging since prior to Voldemort's first disastrous attempt on young Harry's life."

"What about the Dursleys, sir? I get the feeling that they are abusing Harry. Have you ever noticed that he is skin and bones when he comes back from spending the summer with them? Or that he never talks about them as being a loving family?"

"I'm certain that he is just too taken with being out of school to worry about things like proper eating, and the healthy exercise he gets will burn off more calories than he bothers to eat. As to being a loving family, well, we all know that Harry tends to exaggerate when speaking about his Aunt and Uncle."

"What reason do you have for not allowing the Order members to speak to Harry, or even to go into the house?"

"Now, Nymphadora, you shouldn't want to bother Harry. He's just lost his godfather, just as you lost your cousin, and hasn't had time to come to grips with it. He will deal with it in good time."

"Why are you shutting down all communication with the outside world to Harry? Even if he DID want to talk to someone, you are not allowing him to do so."

"Not to worry, dear. His mail is being detained for his safety. We all know that there are potions that are just as effective if handled in a dry form on a letter with heat activation. It is all for his safety."

"What about letters from his friends, and official correspondence?"

"Well, his friends have been warned not to bother Harry over the summer, and the only official correspondence he needs to worry about will come from Minerva's office."

"What about Gringott's?" Tonks growled. "While we are on that subject who gave you the right to change where my mail goes? You know as well as I do that if Harry, Remus and I don't show up to a probate hearing that if Sirius' will is contested we can't defend it!"

"Ahh, you found out about the reading, did you? Well, there is only one thing to do..." With that, Albus Dumbledore slipped his wand out of his pocket and stated quite calmly, "Obliviate. You came in to my office to give me your weekly report. You had a few questions and I answered them all to your complete satisfaction. You do not remember anything at all about Sirius' will or any official correspondence with Gringott's . You were just about to wrap up your report and depart for home."

With a shake, Tonks came out of the spell and said "Is it nine already? Well, I'm off to the flat. I'm knackered. Unless you need anything else of me?"

"Not at all Nymphadora, have a good night."

"G'night, Sir."

With that, Tonks left the castle, apparated to her flat, and went to bed.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Albus Dumbledore sighed wearily. That girl made his teeth ache. Always with the questions. About the only time he didn't have to use a memory charm on her was when she was out on an assignment. Then, usually she was made because of her penchant for tripping. What ever possessed Sirius to bring a klutz like that into his Order... Ah, well. He would take care of that when the time came.


	7. Let the beatings begin

Notice: Harry Potter, Tom Riddle, and any other characters you may recognize in this story are the property of JKR and/or whoever had the brains, contacts, and cash (or other negotiable items) to secure the rights to them. Alas, I had the brains, just none of the other stuff.

A/N: As a lot of this will be written conversation between HJP & TMR, _Harry's writing will be in italics_, and **Tom's will be bold.**

Let the beatings begin

Harry awoke at 5:15 the next morning being thrown out of the bed by his irate uncle. "Get your arse downstairs you bloody worthless freak! I'm late for work and you haven't even started on breakfast yet." This was said while Harry was slamming into the desk legs. A loud crack was heard, and pain shot from his ribs.

"Destroying my property! You know what happens when you do that!" Vernon pulled off the belt that was holding up his 54 inch waist size slacks, held onto the leather, and began beating Harry with the buckle, raking it repeatedly across his shoulders, back, buttocks and thighs. Blood began to come from the boy's back on the first swing.

A chime from the clock downstairs rang out that it was 6:00. "Damnit! Now I'm really late, and not going to be able to have my breakfast. Boy! We will continue this when I get home. Make sure the weeds are pulled and the yard is mowed if you know what's good for you! Also I want you to have that pond dug for Petunia's water garden." With another kick to the boy's ribs, he was out of the room. A moment later, Harry heard the car door slam and the engine start up. With a squeal of tires, his torturer _de jour_ was gone. That was the last he knew for some time.

Hours later, a groan came from the mass of blood soaked pajamas on the floor of the room. 'Bloody hell. My dear, loving Uncle really worked me over this morning. Usually it's not that bad unless he's been out bingeing at the pub and can't get it up.' The thought of Vernon and Petunia even attempting to have sex made Harry stumble out of the room and into the bathroom to empty what little was on his stomach. This also had the effect of causing a fit of coughing to begin. He ignored the fact that the coughs were bringing up a fair amount of bright red blood.

Harry went back to his room, stripped off the blood sodden mess that used to be his best set of pajamas, and opened the closet door. Harry took as deep a breath as he could, and released it, looking down at the side he had been kicked on, noticing a butterfly effect of the ribs with disinterest. Three ribs, at least in two places. 'Happened before, it'll happen again.' Taking out a 3XL shirt, he ripped it into strips, six inches wide. These strips were enough to go around his body twice, before being pinned together. This allowed him to breathe easier, but set fire to the lashes across his back.

Finishing dressing, Harry took the PJ pants back into the bathroom and carefully began scrubbing them with peroxide to get the blood out before it stained. The back of the shirt was shredded too far to bother with. An hour or so with a needle and thread would at least make the bottoms wearable. One look at the boxers told him that this was the fourth or fifth time they had been through this treatment. They quickly joined the shirt on the top of the rubbish bin. After treating the pants as best he could, he gathered up all of the laundry in the house and began a load of wash, before going out to begin on Petunia's stupid pond.

The Drexels, at number 12 Privet Drive had just put one in, and had been lording it over Petunia since the May garden club meeting. Unless she too had a water garden, they were sure to win the best lawn competition this year.

As the day began to heat up, the salty sweat began to work its way into the open sores from the lashings. This combined with the constant movement of digging the eight foot long, two foot deep kidney shaped hole brought even further pain to the young man that was wearing a set of pants and long sleeved shirt to cover the scars. 'Well, by the end of the day, I ought to be able to handle a Cruciatus without too much trouble,' Harry thought.

Finally, the chores were done, and Harry went in to wash up to make dinner.

"That won't be necessary. Vernon and I will be eating out with his Vice President and his wife, the Cummings'. Just go to your room and Vernon will be up there to deal with you when we return." Petunia said, with a gleam of malice in her eyes.

As soon as he heard the Dursley's leave, Harry picked the locks on his door and went to the bathroom for a shower. He made sure the strips of cloth he had put on this morning were wet before removing them, to be sure they didn't stick as much, and tear open what little scabbing had taken place. Throwing away the old bandages, Harry put on his boxers, and created some new ones out of another of Dudley's old shirts. At this rate, he'd be out of shirts to wear by the end of next week. He decided to skip putting a shirt on, as the small room was like an oven, and lay on his stomach, waiting for the beatings to begin again.

Outside he heard a muffled -pop- and caught the distinct smell of Mundungus Fletcher. Body odor, Ogden's Best firewhiskey, and some kind of pipe tobacco that smelled like burning rat droppings. Yup, definately 'Dung. Those were the last thoughts to enter his head as he drifted off to sleep.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

In London, Nymphadora Tonks was just coming home to her flat from a long day's work. Between Auror duties and standing guard at Privet drive, this was the first night she'd had off in weeks. She was looking forward to nothing more stressful than a long, hot soak in a tub, listening to her Wierd Sisters CDs, and then sleeping until 10:00 tomorrow morning.

After the bathwater started running, she went to the kitchen, and pulled out a box of chinese, while blessing the higher powers for anti-spoilage charms. She didn't remember the last time she'd had chinese takeout, so without the charms, this would have looked more like a science experiment gone horribly awry. Looking around the flat, she decided that she really, REALLY needed a maid. The place was a wreck. Old food still on the table, butterbeer bottles throughout the kitchen and living room, clothes all over the place, parchment and newspapers all over. She really needed to clean the place. 'NEXT evening off,' she thought with a grin.

Just as she was about to get into the tub and relax for her long soak, her mother's owl flew in, with a letter. 'Hmm. Wonder what Mum wants? Hope it's not ANOTHER blind date. The last one was too ugly even for a seeing eye dog!'

Tonks grabbed the letter, offered the owl a piece of petrified pizza crust (which the bird ignored, bit her hand, and flew off in a huff) and sank into the tub, preparing to read it. It only took her a moment to read the message, and realize that someone had been screwing with her brain. Five minutes later, the building super was at the door, telling her that if she didn't keep it down, he was going to call the constable and get her thrown out.

As Tonks started to wind down from the anger, she started to get dressed again. A quick apparation to Diagon Alley got her to the bank, and she got on the cart and down to the vault. She began to read the information stored in the deposit vault.

The goblin outside was listening, and interrupted her at one point asking "Excuse me, but what were you going to stick up his arse to use to remove his spleen? I'm taking notes on your inventive invective. A bit of translation and this will raise my status in the clan!" Indeed, he had a parchment and quill out and was already about three feet down the length of the parchment.

When Tonks' renewed ire ran down, she cast duplication spells on the entire set and returned to the surface with a copy. The cooling breeze from the ride was the only thing that could remove the flush of anger from her face. With another -pop- she returned to her flat to look over the sheets in detail.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Harry awoke around 11:00 that night, as the notebook landed directly on one of his lashed shoulders.

**Hello Harry.**

_Hi Tom. This isn't exactly the best time for me. I was trying to sleep._

**Well, I can let you go and we can talk later if you wish**.

_No, that's okay. I'm awake now. Still waiting for the fat pig and the horse faced one to come home. Should be interesting at that point. You might want to tune in._

**That's okay. Believe it or not, I'd rather not watch someone else torture you. That's been my job for so long now that I'm jealous of anyone else doing so.**

_Oh, then turn up the shields as high as you can. It's going to be bad tonight. I can already tell that he's going to be drunk and he was already pissed at me this morning._

**Thank you for the warning.**

_Hey, Tom? I was wondering, were you serious about the Crumple Horned Snorkack feeding grounds being in Norway and not Sweden?_

**Oh, yes. I first came across them there in 1945, and then again in my travels prior to coming to Hogwarts in 1992.**

_Really? What do you know about them? What do they look like?_

**Well, it seems that they and the Norwegian Ridgeback Dragons get along famously. I understand that at one point they were in fact in Sweden, but the Short Snouts tend to snore, and a snoring dragon has a bad habit of setting fire to other flora and fauna that are around it at the time.**

**They are roughly the size of a St. Bernard dog, with a horn of bone coming from the center of their forehead. This horn is shaped almost like an old style can opener. It starts off round at the base, then it shifts down a bit, and flattens out. From there, it curves back up to where it would be if it had been straight. This flattened section of the horn is quite sharp both on the tip and the upper side. A snorkack's fur is flame retardant, and it's coat is about six inches long normally. It may or may not grow longer when the winter is harsher. They are commonly white, with black or brown "socks" to use an equestrian term. Usually, as I said, they hide in and around the northern fjords with the Ridgebacks. When hunted, they will usually find a snow field and lie down it it, with their legs tucked in. White on white is not an easy thing to find, nor photograph. This is especially true when you have a dragon breathing down your neck. Does that answer your questions?**

_Yes. Thank you. Now if I can ever get free of here I can get that information to Luna._

**You're welcome. Now my turn. Why are your Aunt and Uncle going to beat you?**

_They have to have a reason? I guess it's because I overslept and didn't get up in time to fix the pig his breakfast. Either that or it's going to be considered foreplay between him and Petunia. Ick. I think I will take the beating just to get that image out of my mind. Gotta go. I hear the car._

**Good Bye.**

_Bye._

"Hedwig, you'd better get out of here. I don't want you to get hurt. Go eat and then come back in the morning." Harry told his first friend as he opened her cage to let her fly free.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

In Little Hangleton, the Dark Lord smiled. Yes. Albus was acting precisely to pattern. And that would be his undoing. And with it, the rest of the Wizarding World.


	8. The Last Marauder's Greatest Prank

Notice: Harry Potter, Tom Riddle, and any other characters you may recognize in this story are the property of JKR and/or whoever had the brains, contacts, and cash (or other negotiable items) to secure the rights to them. Alas, I had the brains, just none of the other stuff.

The Last Marauder's Greatest Prank

Tonks read through the files she had copied. She also read the note that she had scribbled to herself prior to leaving Gringott's. She knew what had happened. She had gone to Hogwarts and Dumbledore pulled a Lockhart on her. She must have been suspicious of him beforehand, because she'd made a backup, and had someone completely out of the loop to help her get the information back.

She realized that she now had 42 hours to get Remus, Harry, and herself to Gringott's for Sirius' will reading, or they were going to get screwed out of the number four fortune of the Wizarding World. All because of Dumbledore. Tonks started cursing again, but soon realized that she should make better use of her time and energy by getting in touch with Harry and her ex. She realized that she was going to put her personal feelings for Remus on hold to deal with this. She was upset with him, but that was no reason to screw him over that bad.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Tonks apparated to a small stone cottage in Wales. An outbuilding beside the cottage was made of solid stone. Giving the outbuilding a once over, it was a fort. High, slit windows, solid metal doors, locks both inside and out. There didn't appear to be any door frame where the locks were. Just solid stone. A shudder ran through her as she recognized it's purpose. To lock up a man with a disease once every 28 days. That was another reason they had broke up. One person in a relationship with PMS was enough, and she preferred it to be her.

Stepping up to the cottage, she knocked on the door. "Remus! Open up! It's an emergency. I've got to talk to you now!"

After a minute or so, she heard someone stumbling around on the inside of the house. "Tonks? Just a minute. Ow! Shite." was heard as Remus wrapped a toe or two around the leg of a table.

"Hello Tonks. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company this morning?" Remus asked with a hint of sarcasm.

"Sorry it's so late, Moony, and I know it's the day after full moon, but I need to come in and talk to you."

"Of course, Tonks. Come in. Care for some tea?" Remus invited.

"To tell the truth, caffeine would be a good thing right now. I'm running on about as much sleep as you had last night, and it's been a bit of a stressful week."

"That bad huh? Well, I have some instant coffe in here somewhere. Let me get some water going and you can tell me what's gotten you so wound up." Remus stepped into the kitchen to get the water going and getting out the coffee and tea.

"Okay. It's a long story. It would be best if I told you first that you, Harry, and I now have just over 41 hours to get to Gringott's or we are going to be out of Sirius' will. Dumbledore has been messing with our official correspondence in his capacity of Chief Warlock. I guess he didn't want us to be there for some reason. Actually, that's the least of our problems, though. The rest is about Harry."

This got Remus' attention. "Harry? What's going on with Harry? Is he all right?"

"A lot seems to be going on with Harry, has been for years, and I get the feeling that he's not been 'all right' since he was first put with those damned Muggles. Here is a brief report on what I've put together, read it and then I will tell you what happened to me." She handed over the piece of parchment she had written her facts and questions on. "Oh, and look on the back. That was a quick note about the will reading. I didn't find out about it until I had already stashed my backup copy."

"Are you certain of this? What do you mean 'accidental high level healing magic?'" Remus was bewildered. He knew that Harry's relatives didn't like him, but was she implying abuse? And on an almost daily basis?

"Well, I wasn't sure, but tracking at the Ministry certainly seems to be sure of it. And 'accidental high level healing magic' is the ministry's term for whatever seems to be happening at the Dursley's almost every night. Whatever it is, it's powerful, and usually happens in the middle of the night."

"But, we've been getting owls from Harry saying that he was alright." Remus was still confused, but understood that whatever was happening to Harry couldn't be good.

"I asked him about that. His exact words were 'You'd be suprised what you can live through.'" Tonks said bitterly.

"I take it that you took this information to Dumbledore? What did he have to say about it?"

Wordlessly, Tonks passed over her letter to herself.

"You're kidding right? He really wiped you?"

"Yup. Pulled a first class Lockhart job on me. The only thing I remembered was that I gave a stock report on my guarding, and then headed home and to bed. Didn't remember the talk with Harry, the fact that he ran six miles in under half an hour, or the fact that he cussed me up one side and down the other. I didn't even know about the files or talking with Fletch. About the only good thing to come out of it is that I don't remember the lunch date with him either." Tonks said grimly.

A low growl escaped from Moony's throat. He was the last of the Marauders. Harry was his best friend's son. Nothing, NOTHING was going to hurt the boy, if he had anything to say about it. "This happens between 2:45 and 3:30? It's 2:30 am. Let's go." The water for the coffee and tea was left to boil away.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The door at #4 Privet Drive slammed shut. Harry could hear the stairs creaking under the 25 stone weight going up them. The locks were being unlocked, and the door slammed open.

"Boy! Time to take up where we left off! Petunia! Get me that leash Marge left last time!" Vernon Dursley bellowed. Harry stood up slowly, facing Vernon. Vernon's favorite gin had a much different smell than Dung's fire whiskey. Sweeter, yet harsher as well. Must not have aged very long.

"Think you can take me on like a man, now freak? Think you're man enough to stop me without your fucking stick? I know damn good and well you can't mumbo pocus your way out of a beating. If you could you would have done so years ago, wouldn't ya." Vernon took a swing at Harry's head.

Harry ducked the first swing, and threw up his arm to block a left hook that was the follow up. Unfortunately, that didn't help the next shot, which was a kick right up between the legs. Harry folded, clutching his groin. Petunia came in with the chain leash and handed it wordlessly to Vernon. Her eyes were alight in a look of blood lust. The sight would have made Bellatrix Lestrange shiver. Vernon folded the 8 foot length in half, and took it back over his head and brought it down on Harry's back again and again, stripping the flesh from his body, down to the muscle and bone. After the third strike, Harry was mercifully unconscious.

Vernon was so intent on his whipping of the boy that he did not hear the twin pops behind him down the stairs. Moony and Tonks started up the stairs at a run. Remus saw what was happening, and his wand came up. "REDUCTO!"

The spell never hit Vernon, Petunia, or the chain.

Just as the spell from Remus was entering the room, there was a brilliant flash of light. Something knocked Vernon out the door, through the guard rail of the landing, and out the east side of the house, to slide bonelessly down the side of #2 Privet Drive. He landed in the neighbor's side yard under a pile of rubble that was the remains of an inner and outer wall from #4 Privet Drive.

Petunia, standing to the side, was only knocked through the interiour wall into Dudley's closet, landing on Dudley's stash of drugs, knives, and an unfired .32 cal. Saturday Night Special. Close inspection by the constabulary of the weapon would have revealed that the barrel was misaligned with the cylinder, and would exploded the first time it was fired. If the user was lucky, he would only lose a hand. If not, he and possibly several people around him would die from shrapnel.

Remus and Tonks picked themselves up from the rubble that had been the Dursley's living room, and raced back up the stairs to Harry's room. Harry was laying on the floor; unconscious, but alive. There were fresh scars, healed scars, and scars overlapping each other. New and old blood covered the boy, but all of the wounds were healed to the point of scabbing over.

Remus took a deep breath, and almost gagged on the smell of blood. The coppery tang was assaulting senses that were still trying to recover from his monthly night of hell. His nose was telling him that the entire room was splashed with gore.

Tonks was down by Harry like a shot. Her hands roamed his body, checking for broken bones. "Harry, can you hear me? Honey, I need you to wake up. I need you to tell me how you are feeling."

Groggily, Harry muttered "See, I told you that you would be amazed at what you can live through," and went back to sleep.

Remus took charge of the situation. "Tonks. Take him to your place and put him up there. Tell no one. I'll get his stuff together, get it to you, and come back to cover for you both. Good thing that nothing gets through to a 'wolf's mind. I get the feeling that Albus will be here soon. Not even 'Dung could sleep through that, unless he was under Vernon on the way down."

With a -pop- Tonks and Harry were gone. Moony repacked Harry's trunk, and did a quick check for magical items. A glow from the loose floorboard revealed Harry's wand and cloak. Moony looked at the cloak, and with a tamping down of the memories it brought, placed it in the trunk. He grabbed the trunk and Hedwig's cage, and looked around. He had all of Harry's stuff, but then they would know that somebody had done a snatch and stash on the young man. Not good. A quick pair of conjurations created reasonable facsimiles of the trunk and cage. Placing the cage on the ground, Remus quickly put a size 11 through the cage and put it back in its place on the dresser. He set the trunk over by the landing. A bludgeoning curse later, the trunk was scattered all over the living room below, mixing with the general disaster area. Going back into Harry's bedroom, he grabbed the real trunk and cage, and was gone.

Seconds later, Remus appeared in the back yard, to find Mundungus Fletcher over by the pile of rubble that was Vernon Dursley a few minutes ago. Remus ran up to 'Dung.

"What happened Dung?" Remus asked, with concern in his voice.

"Dunno. Ah was just going about mah guardin' an' ahlosudden this great bloody flyin' behemoth come crashin' outta th' wall!" Mundungus wheezed, the whiskey threatening to overpower Moony almost as bad as the blood had been moments earlier.

"Have you called Dumbledore or been in the house yet? Is Harry okay?"

"Naw. Not bin in th' 'ouse yet. Got a message ou' ter Dumbledore soon's I saw wh' 'appened. Said not ta go inside unner ina circ'stances. 'E said 'e'd be 'ere ina minnit."

A quiet -pop- and Albus Dumbledore was standing beside Remus and Mundungus in a white dressing robe with moving sheep jumping over fences, and a night cap with a tassel on it.

"Good Morning Mundungus. Hello Remus, what are you doing here?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes twinkling.

Moony felt the intrusion skitter off the obsidian walls of his mind. "Nothing much. I slept quite a bit today, so I couldn't sleep tonight. I have been worried about Harry and thought I would come over and keep 'Dung company and see how he was doing. I showed up to see 'Dung standing over what appears to be Harry's uncle. It makes me a bit nervous about what had happened to the cub."

"Mr. Fletcher, has anything else happened since you sent your message to me?" Dumbledore asked. At 'Dung's shake of the head, Albus continued "Let us go see how young Harry is doing then, shall we?" Albus Dumbledore showed no outward sign of disappointment that his attempt to get into the werewolf's mind had been thwarted.

The three wizards walked up to the front door. A quick unlocking charm and the door opened to what seemed to be a scene from the Apocalypse. The living room was covered in material from the walls to Harry's bedroom. The stairs were still there, but not the hand rail. There was a two-by-four through the screen of the television.

Carefully, they made their way up to the second floor landing and peered into what used to be the smallest bedroom at Number 4 Privet Drive. There was no eastern wall. It was all down in the living room. It looked like a bomb had gone off in the room. There were scorch marks close to where the bed used to be, showing a silhouette of a body in a fetal position. Wrapped around a ceiling joist was a length of chain with a loop in it on one end, and a hook on the other. Both sides were covered in sticky, congealing blood. The bed was shattered up against the north wall that had a 5'6" x 2' hole in it, roughly human shaped. Peering through the hole, they saw Petunia Dursley on the other side of the room laying in the closet of the room to the other side. Looking to the east, they saw where Vernon was propelled through the outer wall.

Although he had been in the room moments before, Remus was still shocked at the devastation in the room. "Albus, what could have happened in here?"

"I am not sure. It bears a resemblance to something I have only seen three times in my life, but I'm certain it could not be that."

Albus had seen something like this before? "What was that?"

"That is a tale for another time, I am afraid. I know it could not be that because the damage is too limited. If what had happened then had occurred here, the damage would have been much greater."

"What do you mean? How much greater?" Remus asked, intrigued.

"I mean that nothing between the southern shore of England to Hogwarts herself would have survived." Albus said bleakly. "That is how I know that did not happen here. However, it is obvious that Harry has been attacked somehow. He is to be presumed missing, and in terrible danger at this point. We must interrogate the Dursleys to see if they can remember who might have been here."

The trio carefully made their way into Dudley's room. Albus awoke Petunia Dursley. "Petunia, can you tell us what happened this morning?"

"Y... Y... YOU!! YOU DID THIS! GET OUT! GET OUT OF MY HOUSE THIS INSTANT YOU FREAKS!" Petunia screamed at the top of her lungs.

Albus Dumbledore placed a privacy shield around the room, and looked back at her. "Shut up, Petunia. You will tell us what happened now." Albus stated to her flatly.

"Nothing!" She growled. "We just did what we normally have to do to that freak to punish him. The next thing I know there was a flash of light and then you are waking me up."

"Albus, you can't possibly believe her. Something HAD to have happened!" Remus exclaimed.

"Actually, I do believe her. This is clearly a case of accidental magic designed to get Harry away from a punishment. He must have apparated to somewhere he feels safe. As he is not at Hogwarts, I suspect that he must be at the Weasleys. I'm afraid that we must repair the house and bring him back. The wards simply are not strong enough for him to be safe anywhere else." Albus stated matter-of-factly.

Remus was shocked, but covered it well. "Sir, I'm not going to be able to help you with this, being the day after a full moon. My energy levels are still on the mend. Changes have been a bit rough since Padfoot is gone. I think I will go back and get some sleep."

"Of course, my boy. You need to take better care of yourself. You aren't getting any younger. I will have Alistor go to the Weasleys to retrieve the boy. Mundungus, will you get started the repairs while I send Alistor a message?" Dumbledore asked.

At this point in the conversation, Remus took his leave. As he got out of the room, he apparated back to Tonks' flat.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

As Tonks got Harry settled into her bed, she looked at the clock. The time was now 3:02 am. 'Well, now I know what "accidental high level healing magic" is,' she thought grimly.

She heard a -pop-, a pair of "thumps" and another -pop-, and knew that Remus had dropped everything off and had returned. If it hadn't been so serious, it would have been the biggest prank it the career of all of the Marauders, she thought with a grin. 'Stealing the Boy-Who-Lived.' Priceless.

Twenty minutes later, Remus reappeared in her living room. Tonks had the water on for tea, and it was just coming to a boil. "In the kitchen, Moony. What's your poison?"

"Silver, but you already knew that." Remus replied with a grin. "But if you are making tea, I'll take some Earl Grey, and ask if you mind if I pull up a bit of floor in by Harry after we talk."

"Wise-arse. Earl Grey laced with silver it is. You don't need to use the floor. There's enough room that I can conjure up a bed for you. You used to enjoy my bedroom skills." Tonks said with a gleam to her eye.

"Ah, and who is being a wise-arse now?" Remus took the tea from Tonks and sat down at the table.

"Seriously. Albus showed up just after I returned. I told him I had slept too much today, and had just come by to talk to 'Dung, and found him staring at the pile of rubble that used to be Vernon Dursley. Can you believe that unmitigated bastard actually wants Harry put BACK there? Either he's out of his mind or he's a bigger threat to the boy than Voldemort is!" The wolf was glaring out of Remus' eyes as he was speaking.

Tonks looked up and said softly, but firmly, "Not happening. I might not have much, but Harry is going to be staying with me until he's safe. Other than you, no one knows he's here, and I can call in to work the next few days. Heck, if Sirius left us much, I'll never have to work again! I'm sure he would rather that we took care of Harry than to put him back in that situation. Did you see him? I mean REALLY SEE him? I picked him up and he couldn't possibly be but six or seven stone. And those scars..."

"You're right. I failed James and Lily. I failed Sirius. I'm NOT going to fail Harry. He's all I have left. I will walk through hell and pull the devil himself out the other side just for Harry to give him a wedgie if that's what he asks of me. Do you want the bedroom, or the couch?" Remus asked with a yawn.

"I'd already planned on the couch, since I wanted Harry to sleep in the bed. He's had a bad enough night without having to worry about what that couch will do to his back." Tonks yawned in reply. "G'night." With that, they went to their respective beds.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A/N: Oh, not sure if anyone else knows this, but one stone is roughly fourteen pounds. I figure if they are wizards, they are going to use outdated weight and size measurements. They are pretty much stuck in the Victorian era in most other ways.


	9. Waking up is hard to do

Notice: Harry Potter, Tom Riddle, and any other characters you may recognize in this story are the property of JKR and/or whoever had the brains, contacts, and cash (or other negotiable items) to secure the rights to them. Alas, I had the brains, just none of the other stuff.

A/N: I realize that this will make 2.5 chapters without Tom and Harry writing, but it just worked out better for me to break it up like this. Harry is just too busy dealing with the hassles of real life to get back to the writing, and in reality, less than a day has passed during the correspondence. Okay. Back to your regularly scheduled story.

Waking up is hard to do

Harry didn't wake up the next morning. In fact, it was 2:00 in the afternoon before he even moved. His first thought was wonderment that Vernon didn't slam him into the wall at sun-up. His second was panic. He had no clue where he was. Water bed. With ropes at the corners. Dark purple walls. Orange ceiling. With a mirror on it. Shocking pink dresser and armoire. Neon green desk and chair to the side. Lava lamps on all flat surfaces. Hedwig was sleeping on the chair back. Looking towards the floor, he saw clothes, instead of carpet or hardwood. Not just any clothes, female clothes. Bras and knickers in all styles and colors. Even some styles he never knew about. Looking at some as yet unknown female's unmentionables caused a flush to rise to his cheeks.

Harry quickly checked to make sure that Junior and his two friends were still there. Where magic was concerned, stranger things HAD happened. Just not to him. Unless you count the whole bringing a dead guy back to life bit. But that was just unusual. This was STRANGE!

Slowly Harry got out of bed and carefully made his way out of the bedroom and into the hall, looking for the loo. His entire body ached. Including Junior and his friends. That was about the last thing he remembered from last night, except for a couple of licks with the chain.

Luckily the loo was just across the hallway. Hmm. Neither room had a door. Just some glass bead curtains. Definitely someone that doesn't care about privacy. And judging by the g-strings and bras that littered the floor, someone HOT and didn't care about privacy. This was looking up, if he could just figure out how to make a door for when HE was in the loo. Deal with that later. Right now, the loo is going to be used if it's sitting in the center of Piccadilly Circus. Without walls. With a glass bowl.

A short time later, Harry wandered down the hall towards the living room. Remus was sitting on the couch, reading the day's issue of the Daily Prophet. "'Morning, Harry! Or rather Good Afternoon! Sleep well? What did you think of the bedroom?" He asked with a smile.

A look of stunned astonishment settled in on Harry's face. "Y... You... This is YOUR place?" Harry stuttered.

Remus smiled and asked "Why? Don't you think it suits me?"

"No... er... Yeah... er..."

Just then, Tonks came out of the kitchen with two cups of tea. "Moony! Stop that. You've already pulled off the world's greatest prank this morning, no need to tease your accomplice!" Looking to Harry, she smiled and said "Wotcher, Harry. This is MY place, thank you very much. It's a 'bach flat' but it's home for now. Tea and biscuits in the kitchen if you want some. How are you feeling?"

Harry turned red as he took this in. So it was Tonks that wore next to nothing between herself and her outer clothes. "Uh, I'll live. But did anybody catch the number on that lorry?"

Harry slowly made his way to the kitchen, made his tea, snagged some biscuits, and sat down in the living room. "Actually, I'm just a bit sore and stiff right now. Why do you ask?"

"Harry, you almost died last night. I'm still not sure if Vernon is ever going to be the same. What do you remember of last night?"

"Let's see. I went to my room without dinner, because Vernon and Petunia were going out to eat and didn't want me out of my room. I went to sleep for a time, and then woke up and wrote in my journal until they came home. Vernon came in drunk and started beating me. Things got fuzzy after he used the chain for the third or fourth time. Next thing I know, I'm waking up in a bed I could get sea sick in trying to get out of, and a floor covered in tiny unmentionables. So what happened that I don't know about? And what's this world's greatest prank?"

Tonks laughed. "You are. Remus and I STOLE The-Boy-Who-Lived! Isn't it awesome? And no one even knows what happened!"

"Wait a minute. Are you saying you kidnapped me? What happened?"

Remus finally took pity on him. "Okay. It's a long story, but I think we have time for it before we get something to eat."

"Actually, I think I could use some food. The last thing I had was two pieces of toast, um... three days ago? Yeah. Three days ago."

Remus had a sorrowful look for a moment, and then laughed. "Okay, cub. How about I let Tonks tell the story since she's the most familiar with it, and I'll drop down to the pub. Fish and Chips, or just sandwiches?"

"A couple of sandwiches will be fine for me, and if you'll go get it, I'll buy. I have some something like twenty pounds on me. For more than that I'll have to go to the bank." Harry stated.

"Not a chance, cub. This one is on me. You can catch the tab the next time. Or wrestle Tonks for it. How about you, Tonks? Fish or sandwiches?"

"Fish for me, thanks Remus. And I'll gladly wrestle with Harry. Especially if we do it in my bed!" Tonks said with a wink and a saucy grin.

"Dibs on the ticket concession!" Remus called laughingly as he walked out the door.

Harry's facial capillaries were getting a work out in the short time since he'd regained consciousness.

"We'll set the venue when the time comes, how about that?" Harry attempted to compromise, while regaining control of the color of his face.

After Remus had left, Harry turned to Tonks and said "Now, spill it. What on earth is going on? The last time I saw you, I yelled at you and ran back from the park back to the house."

Tonks began her tale from that point, including her trip to the Underage use of Magic office, finding out about the 3000+ notations for accidental healing magic, the trip to Gringott's, the trip to Hogwarts, her mother's letter, meeting up with Remus, and walking in just in time to witness the explosion. She then told him how they saw his scars, and she brought him back here, while Remus "adjusted" the site to look like his stuff was still there after the explosion, and kept up the charade with Dumbledore. "Currently, Mad-Eye is tearing apart Ottery-St. Catchpole for you, and the rest of the Order is going nuts looking for you. Right now, Remus and I are checking out all of the lower rent muggle hotels in London looking for you. So far, we aren't having much luck. I think we might just run into you, oh about... tomorrow at noon or so. What do you think?"

"I'm... stunned. Why are you two doing this? I mean, I can understand why Sirius would do something like this, but..." Harry was truly confused about why Tonks and Remus would go to all of this trouble just for him.

"Harry, we'd both do anything for you, no matter what. Simply because you are you. To Remus and me, that's all you EVER need to be. We love you." Tonks said, with tears in her eyes.

Harry got a wild look in his eyes. "NO! You CAN'T love me! Everybody that loves me DIES! Now, PLEASE! Leave. Me. ALONE!" With that, Harry ran back to the bedroom and threw himself into the armoire. It was the only thing with a door that was big enough to hold him.

After about ten minutes, Harry heard Tonks calling to him. "Harry? Harry... I know you're in there, Harry. It's the only place you can be. Careful of the bustiers in there, please. They put me back about a half a month's salary."

Even in his depressed mood Harry couldn't help but look up from where he was sitting and blushing while being unable to quite suppress a chuckle.

"I heard that, hon. Moony's back. C'mon out here so we can eat and then let's talk about this notion of yours. I think you have a bit of a flawed premise there. Maybe you can explain what you are talking about and maybe we can correct your thinking a bit."

Harry, Tonks, and Remus sat at the table, where Remus had set out the food and butterbeers.

"Go slow on the food, Harry. Too much too soon will have it all coming back up on you after so long with so little to eat. Take it from someone that knows. After we eat a bit, I'll tell you something that no one else knows." With that, Remus took a bite of his fish, while sprinkling salt on the chips.

After they had eaten and retired to the living room, Remus began his story. "I tried to starve myself after James and Lily died. 'Moony' managed to break out of the cage and ate half a cow. He then proceeded to slash his legs while sitting in the middle of the town square so that I couldn't move when i changed back. When I woke up I puked my guts up all over myself and was left stranded and naked in the middle of town. That convinced me of the stupidity of killing myself. I knew that if I tried it again he wouldn't be so... forgiving next time."

Harry was shocked. "You tried to kill yourself?"

"Yes, Harry. I'm not proud of it, but I did. I couldn't bear the fact that I was the last of the Marauders. That I was alone and without friends. It hurt that one of my friends killed the other three and then was put in Azkaban. He might as well have been dead to me. I hated Sirius for that. I hated him for years, until that night at the 'Shack. I've never been happier than to have my brother back, and you gave him to me. I would have missed that if the wolf hadn't made me see the error of my ways.

"Harry, your parents, Sirius, Cedric, all of your friends that have passed away; they'll all be waiting for you when you cross over. They don't want to see you over there for a long, long time, though. They don't blame you for their deaths. James and Lily GAVE their lives for you. They loved you enough that you were the most important thing in their lives, and they wouldn't have been able to bear living without you. The same with Sirius. There would have been nothing anyone could have done to keep him from coming after you. Face it. Voldemort tricked you. Kreacher lied to you. With the information that you had at the time, would you have done anything different? Believe me. Sirius died happy. He was happy that you were alive, and that meant that his life MEANT something."

"It's just... I mean... It's so HARD, Moony. It hurts so much. How do you do it?" Harry and Remus both had tears streaming down their faces at this point.

"I know, cub. The hurt never really goes away, either. But you live with it. And, after a while, you start to remember the good things about them. What made them happy. What pranks they pulled. Why they lived the way they did. Then, you continue living to honor them. To make sure that they would be proud of you.

"Trying to not love someone simply because they may die is silly. It's just as silly as thinking that if you love someone they will die. It doesn't happen that way. All people die, Harry. That's just a fact of life. As soon as you are born, you start to die. If you do everything you can to keep yourself healthy, you might live until you are 150-200 years old. Or, you might step off a curb to cross the street and get hit by the Knight bus tomorrow. When it's time, it's time. The time of death doesn't matter. It's what you do with your LIFE up until that point that matters.

"Someone once said that you can judge people by their enemies. Considering you have managed to piss off the biggest Dark Lord of the century, the biggest manipulator of the century, AND the biggest FOOL to ever become a Minister of Magic, you seem to be about the best person I can find to love. But, to be honest, even if you were just James and Lily's son, that would be enough. I just wish I could have watched you grow up the way you were meant to."

"Thanks, but you still shouldn't love me. Doing so will just put you at the top of Tom's shite list. Right under my name. I can't let you guys do that." Harry said. "I just can't."

Tonks spoke up at this point. "Harry. What is my job? I'm an auror. I'm on that shite list anyway. I'm also a half blood. My mother married a muggleborn for Merlin's sake. She also walked away from her pureblood heritage. And the biggie, I'm currently a member of the Order. If that doesn't put me on his top 10 list, I don't know what will. Now, look at Remus. A light werewolf. Very outspoken. Also a member of the Order. He ought to be at least in the top 20 of Voldie's list, and probably number one with a big star beside his name on Fenrir's. We both ought to be higher than you are to be brutally honest about it. You're not even out of school."

"Sorry, Tonks. I'm definitely Number one with a star, underlined, and highlighter. I have been since he couldn't kill me when I was a baby. At this time, I've even gotten away from him more times than my Mum and Dad. One more time and I'll be up to double them. Also, there's another reason. The prophecy." Harry said, starting to slip back into his depression.

"What about it? It doesn't nail you down specificly, and it was lost anyway, wasn't it?" Tonks asked.

"No. Dumbledore showed it to me when we got back from the Ministry. Trelawney gave it to him originally. Care to hear the whole thing before you decide you are up above me on Tom's list?"

"I don't know, Harry. Do you think you can trust us with it? I don't want to put you in any more danger because of knowing something like this."

"That's okay. I trust you two with my life, my sanity, and my soul. I owe you all three from my point of view. Here goes, '_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..._'" Harry said. "That's why, you could reductor me to the head right now and I couldn't die. I don't quite know what _would_ happen, and it certainly wouldn't _feel_ good, but I wouldn't die from it. It's why I keep telling people they'd be surprised what you could live through."

"Wait a minute. How do you know for sure it's you?" Remus asked, "There are others that defied him three times."

"It's me because Voldemort that had a choice of two babies. Me, and Neville. The Longbottoms were the other couple that defied him three times, and got away. Tom chose me when he first tried to kill me, and Mum's magic short circuited him. He 'marked' me when he gave me this scar. That means that I am the one that he set up as his equal, but I supposedly have a power that he doesn't know about. Too bad that I'm not too sure what it is either, 'cause it would be pretty bloody handy to walk into a confrontation with the baddest bad arse of the century knowing what I could do to get through it alive."

Harry looked down at his feet. "Now that you know about it, you can send me back if you want. I expect that things should be livable back there, at least until Vernon gets out of the hospital."

Tonks and Remus both yelled "NO!" They grinned at each other, and Tonks waved Remus to speak first.

"Harry, we spoke of this before coming to get you last night. It didn't matter to us who we had to fight to get you out of there, from the Deez to the Order to Dumbledore or even Voldemort himself. We are behind you in anything you do. Not the boy who lived. Harry James Potter. You. Son of James and Lily, Godson of Sirius. The oldest young man it has ever been my pleasure to set eyes upon. Just plain old Harry. " Remus smiled, and then continued, "Besides, you wouldn't want us to screw up the greatest prank in the world, would you?"

Harry looked at Remus, and then at Tonks. He saw the look in their eyes, and knew that they would be with him come hell or high water, whatever he should decide. "You realize that this all boils down to either I kill him, or he kills me. That's part of why I was so pissed off the other day at the park. I knew damned good and well that Dumbledore didn't have you guys there to protect me. Do you know how many times I should have died, but I didn't, even in the Wizarding World, not counting at the Dursleys?"

"What do you mean?" Tonks asked. "You've only survived the killing curse once, right?"

Harry let out a strangled laugh. "Not quite. I caught three of them in the graveyard when Tom returned. One on my right thigh, one on the left calf, and another caught me in the back as I was getting over to Cedric's body. Then, Lucius caught me with one at the Ministry a few weeks ago. That was on my left arm, just on the inside of the tricep muscle." He pulled up the shirt sleeve to show them the scar. "I'll tell you what. Those suckers sting like a mother! The point is, I don't see any way around this other than killing Tom, but I don't want to be Dumbledore's little murderer. I don't want to be anyone's murderer."

"Harry, you are NOT a murderer." Tonks said. "That is, unless you count me as one as well. I've killed someone. I didn't want to. I didn't even really mean to. I was in a firefight with four deez -"

"Hang on. Deez? That's the second time you two have said that. What's a deez?" Harry asked.

"Death Eaters, D. E.'s, Deez. Anyhow. They were down behind a barricade of rock, timber, and cut boards. I sent a reductor at the barricade. It hit some of the cut boards, and one of them shattered. It put a splinter of wood a foot long straight in under his chin, through his throat, and up at an angle into his brain. He was dead before he even knew what had hit him. Me and Shack stunned the other three and then came up to the barricade to find out what had happened to the fourth. I took him out. Now, does that make me a murderer, or someone that was trying to do her job without becoming another body in the street?"

"No, I don't guess that you're a murderer. I see your point. There's a difference between defending yourself or something unexpected happening and going out looking to kill someone."

"Exactly, Harry. You don't have to be a murderer to kill someone. Believe me. If it's going to come down to Tom or you, I'll pick you to live every second of every day of the rest of my life. Actually, if it comes down to anyone or you, I'll always pick you." Tonks said, looking into his eyes.

"Thanks guys. I appreciate the talk. I also really appreciate the support. I'll try to live up to your expectations." Harry said with a small smile.

"What expectations? The only expectations we have of you is to live. Enjoy life. Love. Be happy. Try to cause as much trouble as a teenager ought to. You freed Dobby. Why can't you have the same shot as he does? That is what we want for you," Remus said. "If you can do that, I'll be happy and proud of you."

Harry's smile turned into a full fledged grin. "I'll try."

A short time later, with his sandwich nicely digesting, and feeling safe for the first time in a very long time, Harry yawned and looked at the other two people in the room. "Guys, I hate to say it, but between last night and this little talk of ours, I'm knackered. Tonks, do you mind if I steal your bed for a quick nap? Wake me up when you want your bed back. I'll move out here then."

"Sure, Harry. I'll just rack out on the couch again tonight." Tonks said.

"No! I feel bad enough about taking your bed last night. Just get me up and I'll come in here when you two get done talking." Harry said as he headed back to the bedroom.

In a low voice Remus asked "So, are you going to wake him up?"

"Not a chance, Moony. I'll probably get yelled at in the morning, but that man is wasted. He needs a bed worse than I do. Besides," she said with a grin, "I might just say the heck with it and join him."

The shocked look on Remus' face made Tonks wish she had a camera at hand. "Not that way! I'll still have all my clothes on and that's a King waterbed in there. We'd probably never even touch each other."

After a bit more talk, Remus agreed to come back in the morning at 9:00 so they could go to Gringott's together. They both felt it would be safer all around for them to be the first ones there waiting on the will to be read. Remus gave her a kiss on the cheek goodbye and left for his cottage.

Tonks checked in the bedroom, and found Harry curled to one side of the huge bed. With a grin, she grabbed a tee shirt and a loose pair of shorts and went into the bathroom. After a privacy charm, she took a shower and slipped into the clean clothes and slipped carefully onto the bed.

A/N: Tonks just strikes me as the kind of girl to have a waterbed with restraints hanging off the sides, don't ya think?


	10. Sharing the Load

Notice: Harry Potter, Tom Riddle, and any other characters you may recognize in this story are the property of JKR and/or whoever had the brains, contacts, and cash (or other negotiable items) to secure the rights to them. Alas, I had the brains, just none of the other stuff.

A/N: As a lot of this story will be written conversation between HJP & TMR, _Harry's writing will be in italics_, and **Tom's will be bold.**

Sharing the Load

Harry awoke at five the next morning as usual. His dreams had been very unusual. Nothing of Sirius going through the veil. None of the victims he considered to be his own blaming him for their deaths. Not even the old standby of Vernon and Marge using him in a drunken game of bowling down the stairs.

No, they seemed to be flashes of different people, and different things. Sirius taking him for a ride on his motorcycle when he was a baby. Playing with his stuffed toys with his parents looking on. (He realized now it was a rat, a dog, a wolf and a deer.) His father taking him flying on his broom.

Remus playing with him as a baby, and then talking to him in third year. Not about the dementors, but about his parents. Finding out Sirius was his godfather. Staying with Sirius at Grimmauld place last year. Last Christmas with Sirius singing.

Meeting up with Cedric and Amos before the World Championship. Telling Cedric about the first task, and the help from him on the second. Helping each other in the third task, but strangely enough, as they reached the cup, the dream ended and shifted to his other friends.

The last one was of Tonks. First it was her changing her face for everyone last year at Grimmauld, then it became more about her. The smile she always had for him. How he could tell who she was no matter what she looked like. The way she felt when he had grabbed her the other day. The last one hadn't happened quite the way he now remembered it, but it was in the living room when they were talking the day before, and instead of her saying 'we love you, Harry' it was changed to "I love you, Harry."

It was nice, in a way. Certainly it was the best night's sleep he'd had in years.

He began to lift his arm to wipe the hair out of his eyes when he realized several things at once. 1) He had never had hair in his eyes before. 2) There was an arm wrapped around his body. 3) There was a very soft, comfortable, and warm pillow with lumps in it conforming to his back. 4) The arm wrapping around him was attached to a delicate hand with long fingernails which was intertwined with his own hand. 5) The smell of the person against him was female. Definitely female.

This caused him to jerk his body in startlement. The arm wrapped tighter around him, and pulled him back against her with an unintelligible mumble of negation. Harry had barely managed to stifle the scream of surprise that would normally have accompanied the movement.

Harry slowly brought his entangled arm up to his face and removed the hair from his face. The realization of his situation, however, brought about the normal physical reactions from a fifteen year old body, including a bit of confusion as to whether the blood supply should be going to his face, or... other regions. The fact that he had been asleep for ten hours without relieving his bladder also made itself known, further discomfiting the boy. It was only this additional factor that kept his face from lighting the room up from embarrassment. It did not solve his problem, however. It merely brought it to his attention with greater presence.

Harry slowly extricated himself from his sleeping partner, calming her as she stirred with a hushed "Shhh... It's okay. Go back to sleep..." anytime she mumbled.

Harry stopped at his trunk and grabbed some clothes and made his way to the loo. After his bladder had been relieved, Harry took a look at himself in a mirror for the first time in two days. While he felt better than he had since before the Department of Mysteries fiasco, he clearly looked like Hell.

His hair was even worse than normal, thanks to the dried blood matting it into interesting shapes and directions. His body was still covered in the blood and bruises from his last few days of staying at his relatives. His face, neck and lower arms were deeply tanned, but the rest of his body was a glaring white. His ribs were clearly outlined as he looked in the mirror, and the various scars on his body showed up in astonishing contrast. The old ones were the white of dead skin. The newer ones were outlined slightly darker and puckered at the edges. The latest were ranging from raised welts with lines down the center to two inch wide scabs of freshly covered wounds.

A quick sniff confirmed that he'd not had a shower since he had left the Dursley's. The coppery tang of old blood, the stench of dirt, sweat, pain, and fear. It was a wonder that Remus had even stayed around him yesterday.

'Okay, since we are going out today, cleaning up priority one. Priority two will be something to eat for myself and my... bed partner, he thought with a grin coming to his face.

He still felt a bit sorry about not waking up when she came to bed, so that he could move to the couch and she could have her bed back; but he felt a lot of humor now that he wasn't stuck in the situation he had found himself in first thing in the morning. He also had some of blackmail material on his new roommate. She mumbles like a little girl when someone tries to take her teddy bear while sleeping.

Taking a shower in the apartment was a bit of a problem. No doors. Glass beads. Not only would the light possibly wake up Tonks, but she would be able to see into the shower with ease, and Harry was leery about showing his body off to someone he didn't know well, especially if it was a woman!

Looking around, He found a couple of towels, including a massive beach towel. He hung this up over the beads to cut down the light and to make it a bit more private. At least now he wouldn't be showing Harry, jr. to the world while he was in the shower, and Tonks was more likely to continue sleeping through it.

Harry took his time in the shower. He had long ago developed the scrubbing technique that would get him clean, gently remove old blood, and yet only minimally damage any scabs that might be tender. His hair was the worst of it. He had to wash and rinse it four times before he felt that it would be good enough. He thought that he might have broken open some of the scabs on his head, but at least the worst of the old blood and dirt was gone. Hopefully the new blood would be minimal.

The time under the hot water worked its own brand of magic on his stiff and sore muscles. As he stepped out and toweled off, he felt not only alive, but energized. He quickly changed into one of his few remaining clean sets of clothes, killed the lights and took down the towels from the doorway. A glance into the bedroom showed Tonks still sound asleep.

Harry headed into the kitchen and checked out the food storage. Ah, the joys of living with a bachelorette. Old Chinese takeout, His uneaten sandwich from yesterday, a dozen eggs, and half of an 8 ounce package of cheese. A bit of orange juice and a half quart of milk. He checked out the takeout box. Hm. Pepper steak. Not enough for a full meal, but it had possibilities.

Searching the cabinets found a non stick skillet that had never been used. It still had the warning stickers about no metal utinsels on it. He also found some wooden spoons and a plastic spatula. No shredder, but that was okay. He could do wonders with a knife, even if Snape never realized it.

Harry emptied the storage and took apart his Turkey and Swiss sandwich and rinsed off meat and vegetables from the pepper steak with water from the sink. He finely chopped the block of cheese and the slices from his sandwich into quarter inch squares. The steak, vegetables and turkey he chopped into pieces that were about twice that. Three eggs were quickly beaten and poured into the skillet. Harry carefully flipped the eggs over when it was ready, and then added the steak and about half of the mushrooms, peppers and onions onto the eggs. He covered the additions with cheese, waited a minute, and folded it over the new ingredients. One chinese omlet. The other omlet was more traditional, with turkey, peppers, and onions.

He'd never tried making an omlet with leftover takeout, but it was worth a try. If all else failed, he could get rid of the meat and go vegetarian with it. Add enough hot sauce and he could eat anything. After all, he HAD occasionally forced down Petunia's cooking.

He plated up the omlets, made some toast, and poured two glasses of OJ. He put them on a tray, along with some butter and jam, and went back to the bedroom. Setting the tray on the desk, he carefully got down by Tonks, taking care to stay out of arm's reach from her. "Nymphadora... Nymphadora, sweetie. It's time to wakey wakey..." He said as he gently shook her.

Tonks quickly rolled towards him, grabbed his arm and rolled back onto the bed; pulling him with her. She then crawled atop his stomach and began tickling him saying "Never. Ever. EVER. Call me that again." She paused in the tickling as her head came up. "What is that delicious smell?"

Harry grabbed her upper body by the ribs and rolled, ending up laying atop the now struggling auror. With a grin, he said "Breakfast. But if you want it, you have to stop playing and sit up."

Tonks got a thoughtful look on her face, which then turned into a happy grin. She then said in a whiney voice, "But honey... I LIKE you between my legs like this." She then wrapped her legs around his thighs.

Harry's face went instantly red as he realized his position and the placement of his thumbs that were slid up under the base of her breasts. He also realized that she was not wearing a bra. Not even one of the little bitty ones that littered the floor.

"Um... Erm... Uh... Anyway, I made us some omlets for breakfast. I hope you don't mind if I emptied the food storage for them. If you like, I'll serve them to you and get started on dishes. I kind of made a mess of the kitchen."

"Seriously? You made breakfast? Wow. I'm gonna love having you around." Tonks said as she released her legs from around him.

Harry got up and brought the tray over as Tonks sat up on the bed. He set the tray on her lap, and pointed to the two plates. "This one is Turkey with onions and peppers, and that one is, um... Pepper steak. I don't know for sure what it will taste like, but I'll take it if you don't want to try it."

"Pepper steak, huh? Well, I like to live dangerously. I'll give it a shot." Harry grabbed the other plate and started out of the room.

"Where are you going? Get your butt back on this bed and eat with me!" Tonks exclaimed.

"What? I was just going to start cleaning up the kitchen. I made the mess, and I'll clean it up."

"Like hell you will. This is the first real breakfast that I've had since I left Mum's two and a half years ago, and the first breakfast in bed ever. Now, I'm going to share it with the handsome chef and then help him clean up the kitchen. There's glasses in there that look like potion experiments gone awry and I don't want you to get bit by something."

Harry smiled as he carefully crawled onto the bed beside her. "Sorry. I'm not used to eating with someone else."

"Well, you've better get used to it. It's going to happen a lot from now on. I'm afraid you'll still have to cook, though. I'm rubbish in the kitchen. I even manage to scorch water." Tonks took a bite of her omlet. "HARRY! This is delicious! It makes me wonder what you could do with something other than leftovers!"

Harry blushed. "Thanks. I have quite a bit of experience."

Tonks took another bite, swallowed and a low moan escaped from her. "Mmmmm. Hey. Maybe this is the power the Tom doesn't know about. You go in and cook for him, he gains a thousand pounds, and his heart gives out!" She looked up at him and grinned.

Harry looked up at her, saw the grin, and shook his head with a grin of his own. "Somehow, I don't think that is quite what the prophecy means. If it did, the fat pig and the mini whale would have been dead long ago."

"Yeah, you're probably right. But I'll tell ya what. I'll buy the food and clean up the dishes if you will cook for me. Maybe after you off Tommy this can be your new occupation. Master Chef Harry Potter. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think? Then, when you are rich and famous, I can say I knew you when."

"It's a deal on the food, but I don't mind cleaning up the dishes. At least around here I actually get to eat what I cook. I don't know about being a chef. I really don't think I'm that good at it. If I were, maybe my potions grade wouldn't be so piss poor."

"Well, if you can cook like this, your potions grade ought to be an O+. If you had anybody other than Snape it would have been, you know. Ninety percent of potions is being able to follow directions. The other ten percent is being able to look at a reactive table to know what not to add with what." Tonks said.

"What's a reactive table? I've never heard of one of those before."

"A reactive table is just that. It has a list of ingredients across the top, and another down the side. You follow the column down from the top, and the row across from the side. That tells you what happens when you add the ingredients together. You mean that git never mentioned it in your classes? They only run about five sickles at the apothecary." Tonks explained.

"That figures. Snape may be a Potions Master, but he stinks on ice as a teacher."

"Well, hon. Thank you for my first ever breakfast in bed, and congratulations on your new job as executive chef at Chez' Tonks. I better get a shower and get ready for our big date at the bank." Tonks kissed him on the cheek in thanks and hopped forcefully out of bed, making the waves rock the bed back and forth, while Harry quickly lifted the tray in a vain attempt to keep the remaining juice from spilling on the bedspread.

After the rocking calmed down, Harry got up and took the tray back to the kitchen. Deciding that he really needed to help Tonks out in the housekeeping department; he went back to the bedroom, remade the bed and began picking up the various clothes that she had strung all over the floor to take them to the laundry.

As he came around the edge of the bed, he caught sight of movement outside the door. Realizing that the movement he had seen was in the bathroom, and that it was Tonks in the shower, he quickly blushed and put his head back down and continued with his task. Harry quickly left the confines of the bedroom and continued his mission of bringing order to the life of the auror.

Harry was back in the bedroom gathering up trash when Tonks stepped out of the shower and walked in to the bedroom wearing nothing but a towel. "Oh! Wotcher, Harry. Wasn't expecting you to be in here. So, did you like what you saw?" She said with a grin.

Harry blushed deeply, looked down at the floor and blurted out "Sorry about that, I wasn't meaning to watch you, it was an accident. I was picking up and saw movement and... uh, I kinda sorta saw you. I mean ALL of you. I'm sorry and it won't happen again!"

Tonks looked at Harry and put a hand under his chin and lifted his face to look him in the eye and said seriously, "Harry, don't worry about it. These things happen when two people live in a flat with no doors in it. I knew that was a risk when I brought you in here. If it makes you uncomfortable we can see what we can do to deal with it, but I feel claustrophobic and nervous if I can't see everything in the house. I think it has something to do with having Moody as one of my instructors at the academy. That perverted old S.O.B. would just walk right into the women's showers and start in stunning people with a scream of 'CONSTANT VIGILANCE!'. Then he'd mark us down as tardy when we didn't show up on time!"

This brought a laugh from Harry, and a grin from Tonks. Something analytical clicked in Harry's mind and he said, "I do have a technical question that just occurred to me. When you change your hair color, does it ALL change to the same color, or is it selective, like a dye job?"

Tonks looked at him, determined he was serious about the question, and decided to answer him without sending him to the Permanent Spell Damage Ward of St. Mungo's. "Normally, If I think about changing my hair color, I will change all of it to the same color. It looks more natural that way, unless I want to go with a really wild combination, like this." With that, Tonks changed her currently black hair to a neon green, one eyebrow to purple, and the other to a glaring hunter's orange.

"Any other hair that I might happen to have you will not to get to see, at least not at this time." She said, grinning as lifted the purple eyebrow. "Now, if you will excuse me, I need to get dressed."

Grinning cheekily, Harry said "If I can take the towel for you, I can get started on the laundry sooner."

"Get out! I'll bring the towel in myself, thank you very much for the offer," Tonks returned.

As Harry retreated back to the living room, Tonks proceeded to get dressed and ready for the day.

Harry finished picking up the living room, went to the pile of laundry, and realized he had no idea what to do with it. He had not seen a washer in the flat. He called back to the bedroom "Tonks! Where do you do the laundry around here?"

Tonks came into the living room wearing a Wierd Sisters T-shirt, pink shorts, and matching pink hair in short spikes. "I'll take care of that, you take a break." With that, she grabbed the laundry, bagged it and was out the door.

Harry turned on the WWN and went to the kitchen. He'd just finished putting the rubbish in the can and was about to start on the dishes when the notebook hit him in the back of the head and fell to the floor.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Harry turned and looked down. The outside of the notebook had a bit of soot and a couple of charred spots on the cover, and looked slightly battered, but still quite usable. Harry then realized that Remus must not have grabbed it when he collected the rest of his belongings.

Since Tonks had told him to take a break, Harry decided to hold off on the dishes, grabbed a quill and sat down at the table.

**Good morning, Harry**

_Hello Tom. What can I do for you this morning?_

**Nothing much. I was just making sure that you were okay. Shortly after our last conversation, I knew that you were in pain, it spiked, and then nothing.**

_No such luck, Tom. I'm still alive. The beating from the drunk bastard got a bit out of hand and I dealt with it. I doubt that it will happen again if I have anything to say about it._

**You misunderstand. I knew you were still alive - I could still FEEL you, but I was unsure of your status. Believe it or not, I do not wish you ill. I still think that you should join me. Together we would be able to rule the entire world.**

_I'm sorry Tom. I have no wish to join you. Frankly, I don't understand why you wish to rule the world._

**In a word, Power.**

_I have always thought of power to be considered a tool, not a goal. Having power is all well and good, but what do you want to do with it? Just having it doesn't mean anything if it's not used._

**Oh, but I could use it to do whatever I wanted. With Power I could destroy the muggles.**

_That's another thing I don't understand. Why destroy the muggles?_

**Harry, our lives are much the same. I was born and grew up in an orphanage in London during the depression. As a matter of fact, I was ten months old when the the stock markets crashed. All of my formative years I lived in that orphanage without enough to eat, second and third hand clothing, teased, ridiculed and beaten by the other children simply for the fact that I was different. I spoke to a snake on the playground one day when I was five. Just a little green snake, harmless as could be. One of the older boys grabbed the snake, took it by the tail and slammed it against the wall. He then proceeded to beat me. The matron saw it, and did nothing to stop it. I swore at that time that I would have my revenge on all of them.**

_**But not all muggles are like that.**_

**You say this? You, who were beaten at least as much as I?**

_Yes. There is good and bad in all classes of people. Good and bad wizards. Good and bad muggles. Good and bad anything._

**Perhaps. But I have yet to see it.**

_Maybe you are looking in the wrong places._

**Again, perhaps. By the way, you do know about the Black will reading today, do you not?**

_Yes._

**Narcissa and Draco have been driving me up the wall about it. Narcissa is getting ready even as we speak.**

_Why? It's not until noon, and it's only eightish now._

**Harry, when a woman reaches a certain age, it tends to take a bit longer for her to be ready to be seen in public. Moreso for the aristocratic populace, I have found. I swear that woman makes my teeth ache at times.**

_Why not just torture the both of them into shutting up and leaving you alone?_

**I can't because of certain... political considerations.**

_And you want Power? Are you sure you have thought all of this out? Even if you rule everything, you will still have to deal with political considerations. As a matter of fact, it will probably be even worse that it currently is. People will be coming to you all the time to do this or that or the other thing, or not to let someone else do something they wanted to do. Seems to me like if you really want all that, you can have it._

**sigh Such is the life of a heartless cruel despot, eh?**

Just then there was a knock on the door. Harry called out "Be there in a minute!"

_Sorry Tom. Gotta go. Things to see, people to do. That sort of thing. You might want to think about what I said._

**I will. Goodbye.**

_Bye_.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Grabbing his wand, Harry checked the door, and saw Remus looking back at him. He stepped back and opened the door to let him in. "Tonks is down at the laundry, Remus have a seat. I was just getting the dishes dealt with."

Harry started on the dishes, and Remus came over and started to rinse and dry them. They were quickly finished with them and a flick of Remus' wand put them in their proper place.

"Thanks Moony. You know, I could have done it myself."

"I realize that. I also realize that it got done faster with the two of us sharing the load. That's what friends do. Share the load." Remus looked down at the young man and smiled. "I'm always willing to help you share the load, cub. I hope you know that."

Harry looked at the old werewolf and knew that this man meant exactly what he said. "I'll remember that, Moony. Thanks."

As they were finishing, Tonks came through the door with the clean wash. "Harry! I thought I told you I'd get to that when I got back. You were supposed to be taking a break from cleaning up this mess!"

"Sorry. I got bored with waiting and when Remus showed up, I just thought I'd get it taken care of real quick before talking to him, and he just sorta helped out." Harry said, trying to defend himself.

"Tonks. Did you know that you have carpet in the living room? I don't think I've ever seen it before!" Moony joked.

"Yeah, and hardwood floors in the bedroom that I forgot about, too." Tonks returned with a grin. "One of these mornings you are going to HAVE to come over here for a pepper steak omlet. They seem to be one of Chef Harry's specialties!"

"Pepper steak? I don't think I want to know. But Chef Harry? So when did you become a chef, cub?" Moony asked.

"Well, when you start cooking for the fat pig and the baby whale at age five, you kinda pick a few things up." Harry said, the smile leaving his face.

The smile left Remus' face as well. "I'm sorry, cub. If I had known about it, I'd have sprung you years ago and Albus, the Order and the Ministry be damned."

"Don't worry about it. It's not like you could even see me thanks to Dumbledore." Harry said.

"Harry, I'm not trying to defend him, but he had reasons for what he did, I'm sure" Moony said.

Trying to break the mood he had inadvertently created, "If he did this to me for my safety, I'd hate to see what he would do to me if he didn't want me safe," Harry quipped.

Tonks, also trying to change the subject away from water under the bridge, asked "Okay. Now, what do you think we should do about security today, Remus? You know that thanks to Auntie Cissa that the deez are going to be on the lookout for us, not to mention the Order is going to be staking out Gringotts looking for Harry."

"Well, Harry still has his invisibility cloak, so that just leaves the two of us to worry about as long as Moody isn't on the lookout in front of Gringotts. I don't think that the Order or the Deez will be looking for us if we get there early enough. It's not until noon, and most likely they will start checking the place around eleven or so at the earliest. My thought is we go in at ten, one of us cases the place looking for anything out of the ordinary, and then bring Harry in when we know what we are facing.. I'd rather not get into a firefight on the steps of the bank if I can help it, but if it's necessary, I'm sure that if we get into the lobby the goblins will be displeased with anyone attacking bank patrons on their turf. They have some interesting ways of enforcing their neutrality." Remus said. "What are your thoughts, Tonks? Harry?"

Harry thought for a moment and said "Well, if that's what we are going to do, we might want to stop off at a book store first to pass the time, and it might not be a bad idea to place an order at an armorer for all of us. I don't like the thought of you two going unprotected into firefights on my behalf. Especially now that it looks like it's just the three of us against the world." There was a disgruntled HOOT in the background. Harry grinned and said "Sorry Hedwig! The _four_ of us, against the world"

Tonks and Moony looked at each other for a moment and shook their heads. Nobody had that kind of relationship with their owl. Well, nobody but Harry.

Tonks said, "Harry, armor is expensive. I agree that you might need some after hearing that prophecy last night, but we certainly can't afford it. I will agree with your book store idea, if we can make it quick and you wear your cloak in there. Just hold my arm, guide me where you want and we can look together, deal?"

"Deal on the book store, but you will get the armor. I'll pay for it. And before you go into the 'I can't let you do that' garbage - either of you - I have the money. Lots of it. It does absolutely nothing but sit there. If I have to spend all of it to keep you two safe, I'll do it in a heartbeat. Remus, you were the one the one that was talking about sharing the load earlier. This is my part. I'm just sharing the load. You yourself said that's what friends do." Harry finished with a smile.

"Tonks, I think I have just accidently outflanked our argument with the cub here." Moony said with a rueful grin.

"Good. So glad that the two of you see it my way." Harry said with a grin of his own. "The way I see it, Remus, you're the brains; Tonks, you're the muscle; and I'm the money. The rest of the world won't know what hit it." This brought a laugh from the other two.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

In Little Hangleton, the Dark Lord frowned. That conversation did not go as planned. The boy should have jumped at the chance to join him. Instead, he brought up some disturbing questions that he would rather not think about right now. He closed the notebook to go find one of the headache potions Snape had brewed for when he had to deal with the Malfoys.


	11. A day at the Bank

Notice: Harry Potter, Tom Riddle, and any other characters you may recognize in this story are the property of JKR and/or whoever had the brains, contacts, and cash (or other negotiable items) to secure the rights to them. Alas, I had the brains, just none of the other stuff.

A Day at the Bank

Harry's return to the Wizarding World went off without a hitch. To the people of the Leaky Cauldron, Remus stepped in, courteously held the door open, and Tonks followed with only the briefest of pauses. He then hurried ahead of her, and they exited to the back alleyway in the same fashion.

They went to Armand's Hammer Armor & Weapons first. As they stepped through the door in a similar fashion the clerk at the desk quickly pulled out a crossbow, cocked, locked and ready to rock. Pointing it at Remus, he said "Guys, invisibility cloaks in this establishment are heavily frowned upon. I suggest that the three of you either show all of yourselves, or I had better have three of you departing the wards immediately. This ain't no easy joint to knock over. I ain't missed at this range in forty years now, and this'll go through any shield you can conjure between the time I pull the trigger and the bolt gets to you."

Tonks and Remus blushed as a red faced Harry pulled off the cloak with a grin. Remus found his voice first. "Sorry. We weren't hiding anything from you, just from others. We're here to do a bit of business."

"No worries. Name's Forrester. Just get a bit leery when invisible people start coming in to case the joint. Everything I got in the world is tied up in this place, and those wards have saved it and me a dozen times since I got 'em installed. Worth every penny them goblins charged, too." The clerk said with a smile.

"Um, Forrester? Why does it say Armand on the sign?" Tonks asked.

"Well, Forrester Hammer Armor & Weapons just doesn't have the same ring to it, now does it? I saw this muggle box that had an arm holding onto a sledgehammer and decided Armand sounded perfect." Forrester said. "Now, what can I do for you folks?"

Harry stepped into the conversation at this point, knowing that the other two would go cheap. Harry wanted the best his money could buy if it would save him his friends. "What's the best dragonhide armor that you can get for the three of us? Full body setups. Also some good battle robes. I was thinking Acromantula silk. Light, breathes well, stronger than steel. I want it spelled out the wazoo."

"Ah. Been doing a bit of reading up, have you? I don't have any in stock, but I can get it in and ready by the time the armor is ready, easy enough. We've got some Ironbelly, Opaleye, and enough Shortsnout to handle the three of you. Anything else I'm going to have to special order in, though. The Ironbelly is the best that I have in stock. I could probably get some Horntail in a couple of weeks. I've got a contact in Hungary that runs an old age home for dragons. I thought he was completely nutters when he came up with the idea, but the price of the hides he gets when they finally kick off more than pays for the overhead. I'll certify these hides aren't poached. Whether you decide to go with something in stock, or order up the Horntail, it'll take about a week to cut it, sew it, and carve the added protection runes into it." Forrester was into his pitch now, and his eyes glowed with pleasure while discussing his craft. "Won't stop an Unforgivable, but it'll blunt down just about anything else to the point you can live through it."

Harry grinned at the man and said "You'd be surprised what you can live through. What's the best armor there is? Is it the Horntail, or is there something better?"

"Well, now. Horntail is about the best that's commonly available, but the best would probably be a combination of Basilisk covered with Nundu hide. A Nundu covering on any armor would stop everything but the Killing curse, and over Basilisk, it just MIGHT do that. I'd give it a 30/70 chance. Beats nothing. There ain't been enough Basilisk hide to make more than a belt in years, though. Anybody that tries to tell ya different is lying through their teeth." Forrester said.

Harry perked up at this. "How much does hide does it take to make a set of armor? Just on a rough basis?"

"Well, now. For a full set like you are wanting, it's about triple the height to the shoulder and width, shoulder to shoulder, as a general rule. For a six foot tall person, average build, between forty five and fifty square feet, given wastage."

Harry grinned and said, "What if I told you I know where you can get enough for about twenty five or thirty sets? It's still on the basilisk, but it IS dead. What would it be worth?"

Forrester's jaw dropped. When he recovered the power of speech, he said "To the first I'd say you needed to check in to St. Mungo's and get your head checked out. To the second, if what you say is true it'd be worth more than the contents of my shop, and probably the ones on either side as well."

Harry looked smug. "Well, it IS there, and I figure I can claim it, since no one else knows how to get to it and I killed it a little over three years ago. If I let you have it, can you get me enough Nundu hide to cover it with?"

"Well, it'll still take a bit of doing, but yeah, I can get it. I've got a few contacts in the Congo. If you can get me to it, I can trade some of it off for the Nundu and we should still have your sets in about a month. I'll even throw in a set from an Opaleye next week and the battle robes for free." Forrester's eyes were now glowing with avarice. The price he could charge for a set of REAL basilisk armor would cover all three sets of armor and the robes.

"Tell you what, we'll meet you next Sunday at the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade at ten in the morning. You have the armor and robes ready for us, and I'll bring the brooms and get you to the carcass. You take the hide, and start work on the new sets. Good enough? I just hope that there's something left of it." Harry said.

"It's a deal," Forrester said. "I don't think that you'll have a problem with there being anything wrong with it. Basilisk can't be broken down by any kind of bacteria that I know of. Usually they have to incinerate the remains to keep it from contaminating the environment for the next thousand years. I'm probably going to need about a gallon or so of the blood to etch the runes with as well. I'll bring the jug if you'll allow me to get the blood as well."

"That's fine" Harry said. "I wonder what a potions master would pay for that and the various other bits, like the fangs, the venom sacs, and whatnot like that."

"Lad, if you've got a beastie that big down there, I imagine that you'll get enough to buy most of Hogsmeade if you sell it right. Most fangs at the apothecary sell at something like a galleon to the grain. It takes 7000 grains to make up a pound. Figure half that for a supplier. I ain't too big on math, but I do know there's a lot of teeth in something that big. The blood is something else. You'll have them falling all over you for that not even counting the venom.. An' if you have an old skin, it goes by the grain as well. And you'll have curse breakers beating down your door for the chance to work with bones from that sucker. Big magic can be done with something like that." Forrester was getting enthused. This kid had just walked into his shop, handed him the chance of a lifetime, and was going to be wealthy beyond most men's dreams, just because he knew where to find a big mother of a snake. "I've got a friend that's got contacts for one of the major apothecary suppliers. He's a straight shooter, fought with him back when they went after Grindlewald. If you'll give me an address I'll get him to contact you and we'll see about having him meet us next Sunday. How about that?"

Harry, just thrilled that they were getting six sets of armor - three of which could stop almost anything - for free was all for it. He didn't really care about the extra money, that was just a bonus, so if Forrester's friend was not completely on the level, he didn't see it as a complete loss. "Sounds good to me. Um, not to put you off or anything, but we are due at the bank in about half an hour. Can we get measured in that length of time?"

"Oh, sure. Sorry about that. Just got a little side tracked there." Forrester took out a tailor's tape measure, mumbled a few words over it and sicced it on Harry. After a few uncomfortable seconds of the tape measure touching him in places that no one had touched other than himself, the tape came back to the armorer. He wrote down the measurements, said the words again, and the same thing happened next to Tonks and then Remus.

"All finished." Forrester said. "Until next Sunday then."

"Ten o'clock," Harry confirmed. With that, he donned his invisibility cloak again, and the three resumed their trip. The time spent talking to Forrester meant they had to go directly to the bank, as there was not enough time for the trip to the bookstore.

Tonks did a quick change act into a hag and scouted out the scene. Nothing untoward seemed to be going on, so she made her way back to the alleyway. "All clear." She said as she changed from a hag to a sweet looking little old lady. "Harry, you follow directly behind the pair of us. Remus, you are helping your dear old mum up to the bank, so hold tight to my left arm, and keep your other hand in your pocket on your wand. Harry, you hold your wand under your cloak, and touch each of our backs so we know right where you are. Got it?"

The two males stated in the affirmative, Remus took her arm, and Harry placed one hand on the small of Remus' back. Tonks presented a bit of a problem, as her new form walked hunched over. if he were to place his hand on her back, it would be visible. Fighting off a blush, his hand slid down to her butt. "Sorry, anywhere else and my hand is visible." Harry said.

Tonks just smirked and said "That's fine, so long as that's your wand that I feel touching me there." Harry lost his fight with the blush.

The trio made their way slowly up to the bank, and entered. Once in the lobby, Harry straightened up, put his wand back in his pocket, and took off his cloak.

Immediately, two other people came into sight, Emmeline Vance on the east side of the lobby, and Mad-Eye Moody on the west.. They drew their wands and shouted at the trio. Harry, Remus and Tonks made their way to a teller, and quickly said "We are here for the reading of the Black Will. There are two people that are trying to stop us. I thought it was a grave insult for a wizard to pull their wand on Goblin sovereign territory."

An evil grin lit up the goblins face, taking in the two wizards running his way. "You're right. As such, I can do this." The goblin pressed a button under the counter. Immediately Moody and Vance were caught in a field that would not allow them to move. Seconds later a troop of very large, very ugly, and very nastily happy looking goblins showed up and surrounded them, weapons drawn. The teller then got down and walked over to the immobilized magic users. Taking a drop of blood from each, he placed it on a parchment.

"Alistor Moody, Emmeline Vance. You have violated Goblin sovereign territory by having your wand out with intent to harm. In accordance to the Treaty of 1524, your accounts have now been closed, the value of the vaults forfeited to the Goblin nation in restitution for this action. As you no longer have an account with us, you have no reason to be in this bank. Guards! Eject this garbage!" The teller stated. The troop of guards then picked up the still frozen humans, carried them to the doors, and tossed them down the steps. As they passed the door frame, they were no longer paralyzed. They only wished they were when they hit the steps after a very long drop.

The teller walked back around the counter with a very evil little smile and resumed his place. "So sorry about that. People just can't seem to take care of their own trash anymore. It always ends up cluttering up the lobby. The Black will reading? Yes. It's not due to start for another couple of hours, but feel free to wait in conference room 8A, if you like."

The three went to the conference room, and sat down to wait. "I'd say that went well, wouldn't you?" Said Moony with a grin that took years off his looks.

"I'd say so, yes. The look on Moody's face was priceless, and I can just imagine what is going to happen when Dumbledore hears of it." Harry said.

Tonks was thinking back to what had happened at the armorer's. "Harry, how do you know where a giant basilisk is?"

"Well, because it's too big to be able to be moved, and since I'm the one that killed it, I think that I should be the one that gets to benefit from it, don't you?"

"Oi! Hold on a minute. What do you mean you killed it? What are you doing chasing down something like that? Are you nuts?"

"Well, I understand the jury is still out on that one, Tonks. Hermione calls it a 'saving people thing' that borders on obsession. And I wasn't 'chasing' it down. Most of the time I was scared to death and running for my life, and by 'killed it' I mean that I stuck a bloody sword up it's mouth and out the top of it's head. Got bit by the blasted thing while I was at it." Harry said, with more than a little vehemence.

"Harry," Remus said gently, "Maybe you should tell us the story. It's not like we've got a lot to do right now, and it can't help but to share the load, remember?"

Harry steeled himself. He didn't really want to tell them all this, but they were his friends. They had a right to know what had happened and why. "It all started after my first year..." Harry recounted the story of Dobby, Ginny and the diary, Voldemort and the Basilisk.

"So, there's this great ruddy snake under the forbidden forest?" Tonks asked.

"Yup. Fawkes took us out a different way than we went in, and we came out of a deep cave pretty close to where Sirius hid out during the Tri-Wizard mess. Now, all we have to do is get some brooms, find that cave again and fly back in. " Harry said.

"Harry, you know you probably could have gotten a lot more from the armorer than just three sets of armor and the cloaks for a hide that big." Remus said.

"I know, but I figure he's the one that is going to have to figure out how to skin the thing, he's the one that can get the Nundu hides, he's the one with the contact for the apothecary suppliers, and I really don't need the money. I figured you two would be thrilled since I wasn't really spending my own money for the armor, not even the sets that we will pick up next Sunday."

"Harry," Remus said, looking a bit exasperated. "I think the three of us are going to have to sit down sometime real soon and have a long, LONG talk."

Harry looked down for a moment, and then looked up with a gleam in his eye that reminded Moony of James and said "I think that would be a grand idea. You can tell me all about the birds and the bees and where babies come from and everything!"

Remus blushed, and Tonks started laughing. "Harry, I don't think that's quite what he had in mind. But I think you know that."

Just as the laughter died down, the door opened. The rest of those mentioned in the will had arrived. Narcissa Malfoy was the first one through the door. Her head was held high, and she had a look on her face that said all others in the room were as far beneath her as worms were to an eagle. Draco stalked in behind her and flopped down in one of the comfortable chairs as far away from the three already in the room as possible. Albus Dumbledore came next. There was a slight pause as he stepped into the room, the twinkle dying from his eyes for a moment, before he continued on to sit next to Remus. Finally, a goblin came in and closed the door again.

"Good afternoon gentle beings. You may call me Snaghook. We are here to read the Last Will and Testament of one Sirius Orion Black. As I call your names, please state that you are present. Any person not present for this reading shall have any assets forfeited, to be split evenly between the Goblin Nation and the Ministry of Magic. Albus Dumbledore?"

"Present"

"Remus Lupin"

"Here"

"Draco Malfoy"

"Present. Can we get on with this?"

"Narcissa Malfoy"

"Here"

"Harry Black-Potter"

This threw Harry for a loop. 'Black-Potter?' what's going on with that? Well, might as well get on with it. A look to the headmaster showed that Dumbledore was scowling.

"Um, Yes sir."

"Nymphadora Tonks"

With a scowl, Tonks said "Here."

"All appear to be present at the time of the reading. Without further ado." Snaghook picked up the parchment in front of him and began to read.

_"I, Sirius Orion Black, being of sound mind and body - Hush Moony! - do hereby attest that this is my last will and testament. I know how everybody says I hope I went down fighting for some noble cause, but actually, I hope that I died at the age of 157 slipping and falling from the third story window of some guy's house because he caught me in bed with his wife, and twin daughters. That's the way I really want to go. Since I doubt that's how I'm actually going to be going out, I hope it was for Harry. That's a close second for me._

_"Pup, you mean everything to me. I hope you know that. I'm proud to have been your Godfather. I'm just sorry that I didn't spend the time when you were growing up with you, but even so, you grew into a hell of a great young man. I'm proud just to have known you for the short time I was able._

_"Nymphadora, You can't hex me now! So I get to say it all I want to. Nymphadora, Nymphadora, Nymphadora. There. Remember to kick my butt when you see me, but I hope it's not for a long, long, LONG time. Find a guy that makes you happy. I don't care if he's older or younger. Just find someone that pleases you as much as you will be able to please him._

_"Remus, Old wolf, you are going to have to be the last. I'm sorry that I was gone from you for so long, but we all just play our cards until they blow up in our faces. Prank 'em all and let Merlin sort them out!_

_"Albus, I've a warning for you. Leave Harry alone, or your 'next great adventure' is going to be very long, and VERY painful. I'm not pleased with what you've done to the pup, in the name of 'the greater good,' and I know that Lily and James aren't either. Either you quit screwing with his life, or Moldyshorts is going to be the least of your problems._

_"Narcissa and Draco. Wipe that smirk off your face, brat! To each of you, I leave thirty sickles. As my final act as the head of the Black household, I hereby declare Narcissa Black Malfoy and Draco Malfoy as traitors to the Ancient and Noble House of Black. You are stricken from the family and any and all protections that might imply. Begone!"_

With that, a wave of magic swept across the room, and the door opened. The chairs they were sitting in slid across the room and out the door. The door then shut again. A look of amusement crossed the faces of the three, and one of concern was showing on Dumbledore's.

_"To Remus Lupin, I leave the sum of one million galleons. Now, go out and get some new damned clothes, Moony! Tutor, teach, do whatever you want to. Personally, I might suggest assisting in Fred and George's business. I think they could benefit from your sound mind, as well as your devious streak. Or, if you want, just say the hell with it all and go to your new uninhabited island North by Northeast of the Bahamas that I am leaving you as well._

_"To Nymphadora - I just love saying that. Nymphadora, Nymphadora, Nymphadora. Tonks, I leave the sum of one million galleons, and the suggestion that you speak to the new Black about reversing Andy and yours banishment from the family. I think he'll be agreeable to it. I also leave the summer manor outside of Edinburgh. Mum hated being out of London, so I don't think the place is going to be in as bad a shape as the family seat. At least if you clean the place up I doubt that you will have a bunch of stuff trying to kill you while you are at it._

_"To Harry Black-Potter. Yeah, we were worried about things going pear shaped way back when, so I officially adopted you as a blood relative. That scar across your palm was my doing. I'm sorry I had to hurt you back then, but even then you didn't cry a bit. Lily and James were so proud of you. I hereby bequeath all other assets and liabilities of the House of Black unto you. As you are the last living male of Black blood, the honor and onus of the head of the Ancient and Noble house of Black falls to you. Make it a name people can be proud of once again._

_"To Albus Dumbledore. I once again repeat my warning. You are no longer dealing with a child and an escaped prisoner. You now must deal with the head of not one but two of the oldest families in Britain. Trifle with the house of Black-Potter if you dare. If you irritate him enough, they will probably be scraping up the pieces of you from your office using a syringe and a sponge._

_"To the executor of this will. Please make sure that the newest head of the Black family knows what privileges and responsibilities he will have with his new status prior to departing._

_"Such is the Last Will and Testament of Sirius Orion Black. So Mote it be."_

Harry, Remus and Tonks had tears streaming down their faces. This made it REAL. Sirius was gone, and he was never coming back.

Albus stood up quickly and said "Come along now, Harry. You've had your fun, now it's back off to live with your relatives."

Snaghook pressed a button and stood up between Albus and the door. "I'm afraid that is quite impossible Mr. Dumbledore. The last section of the will has not been executed yet."

"Surely that can wait until some other time. The boy's very life is in danger here, and I must take him back immediately."

"Mr Dumbledore," Snaghook said with a sigh. "Judging by the warnings to you in the will, the main person The Black has to fear for his life from, is YOU. I suggest you depart now. In fact, I insist upon it." With that, another band of light reached down from the ceiling to freeze the "greatest wizard since Godric Gryffindor."

Snaghook stepped away from the doorway, and allowed the same guards from earlier in the day to escort another wizard from the bank with all of the care and diligence they showed all of their valued patrons that truly irritated them.

"Now that that is out of the way, let us continue." Snaghook said. "The rights and privileges you will have as the Head of the Black family are as follows:

"Immediate emancipation. A head of household must be able to use magic, no matter the age. There will be forms to sign for this after we finish.

"In family matters, you have the right and responsibility to induct or strike from the family role any person, living or dead. This includes the reinstatement of those previously stricken from the family, such as Andromeda, Narcissa, Nymphadora, and Draco.

"A seat on the Wizengamot. It is both a privilege and responsibility to vote in the Wizengamot in a way you feel best represents the interests of the family.

"Control of the Black family fortune. This is also a privilege and responsibility. You are in direct and complete control of something in the excess of forty million galleons of assets. This includes the hereditary home of the Blacks. The house and all of it's wards are under your complete control. The current liabilities on these assets are less than one million, mostly in uncollected debts, and a few accounts payable transactions. It is your responsibility to use these assets for the good of the family. All of the family.

"Should a family member come to you in need, you must to the best of your ability help them. No matter if it is a debt of monetary value or honor. If it is of monetary value, you have the option to have the family member pay it back or be stricken. If it is a matter of honor, there is no option. It is the honor of the Black family at stake.

"The symbol of the Black family is this ring. Please place it on your right hand." Snaghook handed the ring to Harry, who put it on immediately.

"To a slightly different 'family matter.' You are expected to produce an heir in no less than three years. You are to be wedded in no less than two years. This may be to any pureblood female, or to another Black. This keeps the family motto as 'Tujours Pur.'"

"WHAT!" Harry screamed. "I can't marry anybody! I don't even KNOW anybody I want to marry yet!"

"I'm afraid that you have no choice. The family must have an heir. It must be of your blood. The magic of the station alone will force you to marry someone within two years, and bear an heir within three. During that time, the magic will make you seem a better mate to any prospective female of the proper lineage, and, after a time, start to cancel out any contraceptive devices or potions that may be in use. Do you have any other questions?" Snaghook did not exactly look sympathetic to Harry's eyes.

"You mean other than that whole 'Must marry and produce an heir thing?' No. I don't think so. I understand everything else that you have said." Harry said, looking down at the table.

"Excellent." Snaghook said. "Now, we just have to have you sign here, here, here and right there, and we can inform you of the assets of the Potter family and the responsibilities attendant to it as well. The privileges are the same as the Black family."

"Wait a minute. You mean to say that what I have in my vault isn't all of it?" Harry asked.

"Oh, no. That is strictly a trust account for your schooling. The rest will rival that of the Black family. The Potters were the sixth richest family in Britain"

"You're joking. So what number am I at now?"

"Well, as soon as you place your signature on that last line right _there_, and I tell you of your assets, you will be the head of the second richest family in Britain, and one of the top ten in the world."

"Urk." was the only sound that Harry was able to make as he signed in the last place for his emancipation.

"Very well. The current assets of the Potter family are currently roughly thirty four million galleons. This includes the Potter family manor just outside of Liverpool, the now empty lot in Godric's Hollow, and the summer home just outside of Inverness. I will have a list of the stocks, bonds, and other investments made available to you for both family vaults, and an inventory of the vaults you now have access to. These are the Black family vault, the Potter family vault, the private vault of Sirius Black, the joint account vault of James and Lily Potter, and, of course, your trust fund vault. This list will be made available to you within three days." Snaghook said as he set down the Potter family ring. "Do you have any questions about the Potter assets? If not, I will continue to the only changes in the responsibilities of this family as compared to the Blacks."

Harry shook his head in a negative as he slipped the ring on his middle finger of his right hand. Seeing this, Snaghook continued. "The only change is that you must produce an heir within two years of receiving your inheritance. This need not be to a person you are married to, and it does not have to be a pureblood."

"Wait a minute. I thought I had to marry in two years to a pureblood and have an heir in three." Harry said.

"That is correct, Lord Black, however, for Lord Potter, you must produce an heir in two years. It need not be to the person you are marrying. It could be to a mistress. This is how I understand that most families will do it in order to separate the heirs of the families." Snaghook replied.

Harry just hung his head, wondering what he had done to so piss off Fate to deserve this. Marriage, mistress, two separate heirs. In two years. Harry began to bang his head on the table. As the headache began, he looked at Tonks and said "Can we go home now? My head hurts. And the day started off so well, too."

On the way out of the bank, Tonks stopped to convert some galleons into muggle currency. After that was done, they stepped out of the bank and all apparated to her flat. Harry took a potion, and went to lay down. Remus went home to Wales, and Tonks watched over Harry while he slept.

After Harry awoke, they went out to eat, and then to the grocery store to pick up what Harry called "the basics of a good kitchen."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

With a thump, Albus landed at the bottom of the stairs and heart a loud -crack-. As he stood up and sorted himself out, he determined there were no broken bones, however he did find that he had landed on what appeared to be a now broken glass eye. He attempted a repair charm on the object to no avail. He placed it in his pocket and apparated to #12 Grimmauld Place.

When Albus presented the now broken magical eye to it's owner, he was treated to a five minute long string of cursing that peeled the already dilapidated wall paper in the sitting room. "I'm sorry, Moody, but I had as little control of where I landed as did you. I will replace yours and Emmeline's vaults out of my own funds. I do wish that young Harry would have missed the reading, or at least I could have gotten him back out of there before that damned goblin had explained that he could now do magic. It will greatly add to our problems of guarding him."

"Albus, you can't seriously expect him to go back there, now do you?" Moody asked. "The kid's got to be at least the fourth richest person in the U.K., behind you, the Queen, and that Branson git. Now that he knows that there's no way he'll put up with being stuck back with those damned muggles."

"I'm afraid he must, at least until he is ready. Otherwise, it will all be for naught." Dumbledore said morosely.

"Well, if I recall, it didn't work out so well the last couple of times, now did it? What makes you think this time will turn out better?"

"I will not make the same mistake again. I had pity in my heart for those. I will force it out of the way for this one if necessary." Albus replied, with no trace of a twinkle in his eye as he said it.


	12. Meet The Parents

Notice: Harry Potter, Tom Riddle, and any other characters you may recognize in this story are the property of JKR and/or whoever had the brains, contacts, and cash (or other negotiable items) to secure the rights to them. Alas, I had the brains, just none of the other stuff.

Meet the Parents

It was late evening when Harry and Tonks returned from getting groceries. As they walked up the street to Tonks' flat, Harry heard a familiar sound. One he had grown accustomed to at Privet Drive. The sound of a metal leg striking concrete. "Tonks, we're about to have visitors," Harry wispered, not breaking stride.

Tonks grimaced, then replied "I know. I caught sight of Kingsley's foot for a moment in the alley as he shifted to the side. He's too tall for the cloak he has, and it rides up when he's not careful."

Suprised, Harry said "Well, I didn't catch that one, but I hear Moody behind us. I figure about 30 feet or so. I know his steps from long experience."

"At best it's even odds. Probably a lot worse. If this is a return snatch, I'd put another in front of us. Since the question is going to be fight or run, my vote is for run. What's yours?"

"You're the one with the experience with these guys. I'll go with your judgement. Got a place to go?" Harry whispered back.

"Yeah. I think so. Just don't freak out here in a second." Tonks said. With that, Tonks shifted her sack of groceries to the other arm, took Harry's arm in hers to slow him for a moment, swung around in front of him and kissed him on the lips. With a -pop- they were gone.

From the alley, ahead and behind where the pair disappeared from, three people came into view, and walked to the meet where they couple had been. "What happened?" Hestia Jones asked the other two.

"Well, obviously, we were made." Alistor replied. "I knew we should have grabbed them when they were getting food."

Kingsley said "Mad-Eye, you know if we did that we'd have been up against the Secrecy statutes. There were at least fifty people in there, and Merlin only knows how many outside."

"So? That's what the obliviators are for!" Moody replied testily.

Hestia, trying to calm both of the men down before the wands came out said "Need I remind you that this is not a Ministry sanctioned event, Alistor? The obliviators would probably have been after US, not the muggles. I don't think you want one of those guys tinkering with your mind, do you?"

Mad-Eye, finally seeing the sense in what Hestia was saying, said "Bloody effing hell. You're right. Both of you. In the old days it wouldn't have been like this, though." He groused.

Kingsley, feeling the tension dropping said "Come on, let's get back to Headquarters and report."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

As they came back to the real world, Tonks ended the kiss as they both stumbled fell over onto a bed. While laughing, Harry managed to get out "Apparation while kissing, huh? Well, I think I have finally found a wizarding way of travel I like better than a broom!"

"Hush, you! I had to find a way for us to stop that wouldn't get us stunned before we could get away. Apparating while moving is a good way to get splinched." Tonks replied, but she also had a grin on her face.

Harry looked around, and saw that the room they were in was painted blue, with bronze trim. Over on the desk was a computer, with a cork board above it. On the wall were a series of medals, plaques, and certificates. He saw several wizarding photos of a strange, but familiar looking woman, with a very large man and a young girl. The man and woman were waving, and the little girl was grinning and waving while her hair kept changing colors and her nose would grow and shrink.

"Um, Tonks? Where are we?" Harry asked.

"Oh, we're in my room. I mean my old room. Mum converted it to her home office when I moved out. She's a auditing consultant, and dabbles in trading stocks and bonds on the side. It was the only place I could think of off the top of my head to get away. My dad is an independent contract curse breaker. He specializes in updating and setting up wards. He'll go to a business or home and take a look at what wards they have, and tell them if they will do what they are looking for. Sort of like the wards that Hammer has. Say he wanted to have it just not let anyone in that was cloaked. Dad would look at what he has, and how to change it to not allow entry at all instead of just notifying the owner." Tonks said.

Harry nodded. "I see. Your mum. How good is she?"

"Well, I guess she's pretty good. She was good enough to be able to pay for my education, put back a pretty fair amount, and still keep track of me. I'd call that pretty good." Tonks said protectively.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I was -"

At that moment the door opened. "Nymphadora dear! What are you doing here? And is this that darling young man you were telling me about!"

"Mum! I've asked you to PLEASE not call me that, and I don't know what you were talking about. I was just bringing him to meet you!" Tonks said, blushing.

"Ted, Honey! Nymphadora's in the office, and she's brought a MAN home for us to meet." Andromeda called down the hallway. "Now, why are there groceries scattered all over the floor in here?"

Tonk's blush deepened, and she scrambled off the bed. Harry, realizing that he was just caught by the mother of his friend laying on her bed, also blushed and got up quickly and began to pick up the fallen food. Most of it was okay, but the tomatoes, grapes, and eggs were goners.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Tonks, we um, stumbled as we were coming in and just fell on the bed. The bags we were holding didn't fare to well, you see. We were coming from the grocery store and, well, um." Harry rambled.

Andromeda laughed, and got down on her knees to help Harry pick up the fallen groceries. "Well, Seeing as how my daughter has completely forgotten her manners, Hello. My name is Andromeda Tonks, but you may call me Andi or Andromeda. I still think of 'Mrs. Tonks' as my mother in law." With that, she held out her hand.

"Um, Harry Potter, Ma'am, er, uh, Andromeda. I'm a friend of your daughter's." Harry started to take her hand, looked down at his own hand, and wiped it off on his pants several times, trying to get the smashed tomato off of it.

Andromeda laughed musically, took his hand before he was satisfied it was clean, and shook it warmly while Harry was blushing profusely.

Belatedly, Tonks also got down on her knees, and said "Mum, this is Harry James Black-Potter. The Black. Harry, This is Andromeda Tonks. My mum." and she began to also gather up the spilled food.

Andromeda gasped, and said "It's my pleasure Lord Black. I apologize for my earlier levity at your expense."

"What? Oh, no. Think nothing of it, Andromeda. I'm sure that when you walked in the room, it must have been a hilarious sight. I seem to have a slight problem with getting into them. I'm starting to get used to it. At least you weren't here when we first arrived. That scene would have had you rolling around on the floor gasping for breath!" Harry said, grinning.

Tonks felt the heat return to her face. At that moment, Ted came in the door, and looked down at the laughing trio. His rumbling basso voice cut through the laughter. "What was that you said Andi? Something about my baby girl bringing a man in for me to meet?"

As they finished picking up the last of the groceries, Tonks looked up and smiled and said "Daddy, I would like you to meet Harry James Black-Potter. The Black. Harry, this is my father, Ted Tonks."

Harry stood up, and found that he didn't even reach up to Ted's shoulder. He put out his hand and said "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Tonks."

"It's Ted. Nice to meet you, Mr. Potter," and took Harry's hand in a hand that would do a grizzly bear proud. The grip was firm, but not crushing, luckily for Harry.

"Um, just call me Harry, please Ted. Being called Mr. Potter usually makes me think I'm about to be yelled at."

"Okay. The introductions are done, now, Nymphadora, would you mind telling me why you decided to come over unannounced, late, and directly into your old room?" Andromeda asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Well, it's a bit of a long story. Can we shift the conversation to the kitchen and put these out of the way before we get into it?" Tonks asked, stalling to figure out how much to tell them.

"Of course, dear. Where are my manners. Would you like some tea, Lord Black?" Andromeda asked Harry.

A shudder ran through Harry as he looked at her with a pained expression. "Actually, that's even worse than Mr. Potter. Please call me Harry as well, Andromeda. And tea sounds wonderful."

The quartet retired to the kitchen. Tonks set the bags on the countertop and placed a stasis spell on the food while Andi put water on to boil.

There was an uncomfortable silence at the table until Andi and Tonks came back over with the tea.

"So, Lord Black, how is it that I found you in my daughter's room, on her bed, with various foodstuffs laying about the floor?" Andromeda asked with a smile. Ted had a scowl on his face at this statement, and Harry gulped.

Tonks tried to save him. "Mum, Dad, it's not what you think. We had to get away from some people rather quickly, and that was the first place I could think of."

"Your bed? With a man? That was the first thing you could think of?" Ted asked, the scowl still present.

"What? No! I just wasn't sure if the outside of the house was being watched, and we just lost our balance when we came in. It seems that Harry is just as clumsy as I am when it comes to travelling." Tonks said.

"And why would there be someone watching our house, dear?" Andromeda asked. The smile was gone now.

Tonks looked at Harry, and with a sigh said, "Harry, I think it's time to level with them. I'm sorry, but I really didn't have anywhere else I could take you that I knew would be safe."

"It's okay, Tonks. It's going to come out one way or the other, but I'll let you tell them, since I'm still not too sure what all has happened in the past week.."

Tonks then told them of the entire story. How she had been watching over Harry for the Order, the scene at the park, finding out about the magic, the kidnapping, the will reading, and who all was after Harry now.

As she was talking, Harry kept everyone's tea fresh and watched Andromeda and Ted's expressions. By the end, Andromeda was smiling, but there was a deep scowl on Ted's face.

There was a moment of silence, and then Ted said "Mr. Potter. I think that you and I need to have a little talk. Let's go back to the office and let the girls chit-chat for a few moments."

Harry had the same feeling he'd have if he was on his way to a six hour detention with Snape as he followed Ted back to the office.

After the men were out of the kitchen, Andi cast a silencing spell on the door and, with a glint in her eye, said "So, is he the one?"

"Mum? What are you talking about?" Tonks asked.

"Dear, I know you too well dear. Remember the Niffler you brought home when you were eight?"

"You knew about that?" Tonks asked, shocked.

"Yes dear. When he got into my jewelry box you missed putting an earring back. I had a terrible time getting it away from the little guy, too. Now, is he the one? You know, the one that you said didn't even see you. I told you that I know you, Nymphadora, dear. I saw the look on your face while you were talking. He's the one, isn't he? And Lord Black, too. I am so proud of you baby! And he's sooo cute! Those eyes of his are to die for!" Andi giggled like a third year hearing a juicy piece of gossip.

"Mu-umm!" Tonks whined. "Don't call me that! And I'm a grown woman now, and I want to keep my love life, or lack thereof, to myself! Please!"

"Yes, dear. I just wanted to let you know that I approve of him." Andromeda said, trying hard to maintain a serious look on her face. "You realize that your father is even now threatening your new beau, don't you?"

"Mum. Harry is just a friend. He was in an bad situation, and I'm helping him out. I didn't bring him here for Daddy to threaten to break his legs." Tonks said. Then, her expression took on a scowl and she said "Of course, for him that'd be a walk in the park."

"Actually dear, I don't think it's his legs that your father is going to be threatening," Andi said with a smile.

With a horrified look on her face, Tonks made to get up.

"Oh, do sit down Nymphadora dear. It's the god given right for all fathers of unmarried young ladies to threaten their prospective boyfriends. It proves their stick-to-it-ive-ness. If the father can scare them off, they aren't even in the running to be worthy of their daughter. If he stays, he gets to heap more abuse on them to see if they are good enough to be in the same room with his baby girl. This is the way things have always been, and will always be."

Tonks sat back down and buried her face in her hands, mentally kicking herself for bringing Harry here.

"Dear? What's wrong?" Andromeda asked.

"Mum?" Tonks took a deep breath and looked up at her mother. "Do you want to be a Black again?"

"What? I was renounced when I married Ted. Orion blew his top when he found out I was going against his wishes to marry a muggleborn. Where did this come from?"

"Well, Sirius suggested it in his Will. And really, Harry doesn't have anyone else to turn to. The Black family is down to him and Bellatrix. That doesn't sound too good for the Ancient and Noble family, if you take my meaning. And I know Harry's going to need help. He knows nothing about society, the Wizengamot, business matters, any of that. The poor kid is the fourth richest man in all of Britain, and he dresses in castoffs, for Merlin's sake!"

"Wait a minute. What happened to 'Cissa and Draco?" Andromeda asked. "I had thought that Draco would have been the last of the Blacks."

"Well, Sirius also kicked them out as his last official act as the Head of the family. You should have seen the look she had on her face as her chair flew out the door," Tonks giggled. "That left Harry as the only one without a Ministry shoot on sight warrant."

"Well, you may do whatever you wish, dear. As for me, let me speak to Ted tonight, and if he agrees, I will make the pitch to Lord Black in the morning. Is that acceptable?"

"Thank you, Mum. I just thought that you should know that the option was available, and to beg you for your help for Harry. I don't even think he knows how deep the water he's in is, much less that there are sharks in it."

"Don't worry, dear." Andi said. "Even if we decline becoming Blacks again, we can still offer him the family rate on mine and Ted's services."

"Thanks, Mum. I knew I could count on you."

"Of course you did, dear." Andromeda said with a smile to her daughter.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Back in the office, a slightly different conversation was taking place.

"Mr. Potter. Please have a seat." Ted said as he pulled out a chair for Harry.

Harry took the seat as Ted looked around, and found a missed can of tomato paste. 'Perfect,' he thought. "Mr. Potter; Harry. What are your intentions with my daughter?"

The question stunned Harry. "Um, I'm not exactly sure what you mean by that, sir."

The expression on Ted's face reminded Harry vaguely of Vernon's when he wanted to beat Harry, but witnesses were around. "I mean do you intend to play with her heart and then hurt her. I can tell you right now that whether you are the Boy-Who-Lived or not, you wouldn't like what I would do to you if this were to happen." With that Ted crushed the can in his hand. The paste squirted out between his fingers. A quick cleaning charm banished the mess.

Harry's face paled, but not for the reason that Ted thought. "What? I don't... I mean... Look, sir. Tonks is my friend. I'd never do anything to intentionally hurt her, nor do I want to see her get hurt. To be honest, I don't think I've ever really played with anybody's heart, and was not really expecting to have this conversation with anybody. Ever."

Harry took a deep breath, and started again. "And as far as all of that Boy-Who-Lived rubbish, I never asked for that title, or any of the other crap that everybody seems to want to hang on me. I never asked to be Lord this or Lord that, or the boy who lived, or the new one seems to be the Chosen one." Harry's face had gone from pale to red with anger.

"I never asked for ANY of that garbage. All I have ever wanted to be was plain, old, Harry Potter, and it seems that the whole damned world won't leave me the bloody hell alone and let me be him. The main reason that I like Tonks is that she just lets me be plain old Harry. She doesn't care about any of that shit, and knows that I'm just a kid that's in way over his head, and she wants to help me. That's why I love her. Er, I mean, that's what I like about her." Harry stuttered as he finished his rant.

"I see. And what about the way she looks. What would you like to see her look like?" Ted asked, deadpan.

"I don't care what she looks like. I like the way she is now. I like her when she looks like a little old lady that passes me on the street. I like her when she's asleep and her face looks like her a young version of her mother's. Um, I mean. Um. What I mean is, the way she looks should please HER. I always know it's Tonks inside of whatever body she's morphed into." Harry thought he had managed to save himself, but he wasn't too sure.

His hope of living plummeted when Ted said "And just how would you know what she looks like when she is asleep?"

"Um, well, you see, the day after she saved me, I went to sleep in her bed at about seven, and told her to wake me up when she was ready for bed and I would move to the couch. She either couldn't or didn't bother to wake me up. I woke up around five the next morning, and found her there. But we were both fully clothed! And nothing happened! I swear." Harry blushed while telling the father of the daughter he'd slept with about the encounter.

"I see. So tell me, how far has your relationship with my daughter gone?"

"Well, sir. She's kissed me on the cheek a couple of times, I think, and on our way here was the first time she's kissed me on the lips." Harry blushed even deeper with the thought.

"Mr. Potter, I know my baby girl. She has it bad for you. I will repeat my warning to you. Do. Not. Hurt. Her. Or Else. Understood?" Ted said.

"You won't have to worry about that Sir. If she gets hurt, I'll do it to myself." Harry said honestly.

"That's what I wanted to hear. Let's go see what the girls are doing, Harry." With that, Ted clapped his hand on the young man's shoulder, and they left the office to return to the ladies.

Harry winced a bit as the massive hand slammed down on some still fresh wounds. He couldn't help but feel like he'd just passed his DADA NEWT with flying colors, but was about to face Voldemort for the final battle in three minutes. Wrung out and very confused. 'Tonks likes me. Likes-me likes me. What the bloody hell do I do about it, now?' he thought, as he followed Ted down the hallway.


	13. Fate's What?

Notice: Harry Potter, Tom Riddle, and any other characters you may recognize in this story are the property of JKR and/or whoever had the brains, contacts, and cash (or other negotiable items) to secure the rights to them. Alas, I had the brains, just none of the other stuff.

A/N: As a lot of this will be written conversation between HJP & TMR, _Harry's writing will be in italics_, and **Tom's will be bold.**

Fate's what?

Harry, Tonks, Ted and Andromeda gathered in the living room of the Tonks household after their respective 'talks.' Andi looked at Tonks, smiled and said "See, Nymphadora. I told you he'd live through Ted's grilling."

This prompted Harry to say his line, with only a hint of bitternes. "You'd be surprised what you could live though." He tried to smile to pass it off, but it never reached his eyes. Andi caught the look, and glanced at Tonks.

Her daughter merely shook her head, went to Harry, and took his hand and brought him to the couch to have a seat. "I'm sorry, Harry. Daddy can't seem to figure out that I have been an adult for four years now and can look after myself." She said, while glaring at her father.

"I don't know about that, Tonks. I HAVE seen the way you keep your flat. You might be able to look after yourself, but I would feel sorry for any pets you might decide to take in." Harry replied. This time, smiling with his entire face.

Tonks hit him on the arm, while Ted laughed and Andi replied "Oh, you mean like a niffler? The last one she, um... acquired ransacked our bedroom one day while we were at work."

Tonks, outraged, said "Mum! I was EIGHT. I've grown up a lot since then! I can take care of pets just fine now. And now that I have Chef Harry here, I'm sure that I'll even be able to find them again and they'll be alive." She said with a pout that was quickly turned into a smile as everyone started laughing.

Andi lifted an eyebrow that reminded Harry of Narcissa Malfoy. 'Must be a Black thing. Wonder if it would work for me?'

"Chef Harry?" She asked.

"Oh, Mum. Harry makes a pepper steak omlet that's to DIE for."

"Pepper steak? And just how do you make a pepper steak omlet, Harry?" Ted asked.

"Well, first you find some left over chinese Chung Wu's, a bit of cheese and eggs in the fridge, and nothing else. Then you rinse off the old sauce, and use the steak and vegetables in the omlet." Harry said.

"Chung Wu's? Didn't they go out of business about a year ago?" Andi asked, frowning at her daughter. "You don't need a chef, young lady. You need a keeper!"

Harry and Tonks looked at each other, and then burst out laughing. Seeing the question on her parents' faces, she told them "Sorry, mum. Harry's not a keeper, but he WAS the youngest seeker in the past century at Hogwarts."

Harry piped in with "Yeah, I'm rubbish as a keeper. Looks like you're going to have to go look up Oliver Wood for that, Tonks."

Andi groaned. "Please. No quidditch. If we don't shut down that line of conversation now, Ted will be going on about Puddlemere's chances for the rest of the night. Harry. Tell us about yourself."

Harry mentally groaned. This could end up being worse than Ted's little talk! Still, he couldn't back out of it now. Maybe he could just gloss over the highlights. "Not really a lot to tell. I'm just your normal everyday teenager that so far has managed to live through a killing curse that bounced back and killed the caster, pissing off a Dark Lord; saved my godfather from being kissed by a hundred or so Dementors and then was forced into helping bring said Dark Lord back and rubbing the Minister's nose in it, pissing of the Minister of Magic. Oh, and had the temerity to have your daughter help me escape from getting beat half to death every night, pissing off Dumbledore. Oh, then I have the idiots in the press trying to decide if I'm a hero or the soon to be worst dark lord since Salazar Slytherin. Now today I get to find out that I'm one of the richest people in the world, own a bunch of properties, and have to get at least one wife - probably two - and have a pair of kids in the next three years. Oh, and now I have the guy that's trying to get me beaten daily searching for me and basing it out of my own house! Sometimes I think I'm just going to change my name officially to what it seems like already. I'll just be known from now on as 'Fate's Bitch.' What do you think? Or should it be 'Lord Harry James Fate's Bitch Black-Potter?' Yeah, I think that's it. 'Lord Fate's Bitch' sounds like a rather mediocre dark lord, don't you think?" Harry was trying to smile while saying all of this, but it turned into a grimace

Andi, trying to lighten the moment, said "Hmm. Nymphadora Bitch. Mmm. No, not quite right. Better stick with what you have for a name and just use it as a nickname. I can't have my daughter being marrying with someone with the actual name of 'Bitch.'"

"Mum! At this time I have no plans of getting married. Not to Harry, not to anybody." Tonks said, blushing again. "I should have known this would happen when I brought you here Harry. Mum and Dad seem to like to scare people away from me, and then complain that I never bring people over to visit." She was looking down at the floor when she said this.

Harry decided that Tonks needed a bit of comforting after what her parents had put her through. He hugged her and said "It's okay, Tonks. No one has ever died from acute embarrassment, and your mum and dad are a walk in the park compared to my relatives."

Tonks returned the hug, and then said "Acute, no. But what about chronic embarrassment? Has there ever been any studies done on that?" They all laughed at that comment. "Thanks Harry. I needed that."

Yawning, Andi said "It's getting quite late, dears. Tonks, why don't you take your old room, and Harry, We'll get some blankets for you for the couch, okay?"

"Thanks, Mum. It's been a bit of a long day for us too." As Tonks headed back down the hall to the office.

Harry caught a look from Ted as he and Andi brought back the blankets and a pillow, and understood it's meaning to be that he was to STAY on the couch. Harry blushed and nodded his head quickly.

Though Harry was tired, his day had been too full of events for him to sleep. He was practicing clearing his mind when the notebook appeared on his chest.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**Good evening, Harry.**

Hello Tom.

**Or should I say Lord Black? Congratulations on your elevation.**

_Oh, please. I guess that Narcissa told you that she and the ferret were kicked out of the family, huh? _

**Yes, she did. She seemed quite put out about it as well. She was all set for Draco to become the new Lord Black. She had Miss Parkinson all set to be the new Lady Black, and Miss Davis to be the new Lady Malfoy.**

_Ugh. And what a pain all this stuff is. I never asked to be "Lord" anything. Why couldn't you have just picked on Neville back then?_

**Neville who?**

_Longbottom. The other boy that was born at the end of July. He was born about three hours before me. Around 11:45 on the 30th._

**I see. I was not informed that there was another possibility. My spy informed me only of you.**

_What! That RAT! I'm going to enjoy turning Pettigrew into a smear on the bottom of my shoe when I get ahold of him!_

**Actually, that was not the spy I was referring to. He was not recruited until after you were born**.

_Oh, really? And just who was it?_

**I don't think I should reply to that directly. Suffice it to say that there are spies, and there are turncoats. That should lead you to the correct conclusion.**

Harry thought for a moment. Could it be? He hated my dad, and Sirius, and was not too wild about Remus. But he wouldn't, would he?

_It was Snape, wasn't it._

**Yes, Lord Black. It was.**

_Well, I hope you don't mind losing a spy very soon. He's going to be the first on a very long list of paybacks._

**I wouldn't have told you if his services mattered to me. I have come to question his usefulness to me lately, and I understand that Albus has as well, no matter what he may say about trusting him. He is trying to play both sides against the middle, so that he might look like a hero to both sides.**

_Well, he's going to have an accident very soon. I'm afraid that it just might be fatal._

**I understand, Lord Black. However, I do have a request of you, on a completely different matter. If you agree to at least think about it, I will give you some other information that you might be interested in.**

Harry sighed. Maybe this deal with the devil was going to go south on him very soon.

_What's the request?_

**Get some professional help for Trixie.**

_Um, excuse me? Who or what is Trixie?_

**You know her as Bellatrix Black-LeStrange.**

_What! Are you out of your stinking mind??? She's the one that hurt Tonks and killed Sirius!_

**No, but I fear that she is, and that is the sane side of her.**

_I think we are going around in circles here. Um, excuse me? What do you mean by that._

**How much Psychology and recent Black family history do you know, Lord Black?**

_Not much of either, and please, call me Harry. If I can't be on first name basis with my mortal enemy, who can I be?_

**All right, Harry. I see that I am going to have to go with some background information so that you will agree to even consider my request.**

**First for the psychology. In my day, it was called schizophrenia. In the middle seventies, it was called Multiple Personality Disorder, or MPD. Now, it is called Dissociative Identity Disorder, or DID. What it all breaks down to is basically there are two people living inside of Bellatrix Black LeStrange.**

**Andromeda, Narcissa, and Bellatrix were the offspring of Cygnus and Druella Black. Cygnus died when Bellatrix was six years old. The Black at that time was Arcturus. He arranged for Druella to be married to Pollux Black; who at 47 and unmarried, it was rumored to be homosexual. While the wizarding world has no problems with that, it turns out that Pollux was actually a pedophile. Even the wizarding world has severe problems with that particular twist in the sexual mores.**

**It seems that Pollux was using the young girl orally and anally to satisfy himself for several years. This caused the two personalities now called "Bella" and "Trixie" to separate. After the death of Arcturus, Orion (Sirius' and Regulus' father) became The Black. Bellatrix informed The Black of the abuse at the age of ten.**

**Orion and Walburga discussed it between themselves, and decided this was a debt of honor that could best be satisfied by teaching the young girl a particularly nasty curse. As Walburga was the more vindictive of the two, she taught young Bellatrix the exploding castration curse.**

**The next time that Pollux came to her bedroom in the evening, when he had disrobed and was attempting to mount her, she used the curse.**

**The cry of "Explosivo Castrado" at the top of her lungs brought Druella, Andromeda, and Narcissa into the room to find Bella laughing and using every curse she could at the ripe old age of ten on the stricken step-father.**

**Druella contacted Orion, who came and dealt with Pollux by casting him out of the family, as well as the house. She and Bellatrix's sisters then calmed the girl down, and she went to bed.**

**The next morning, Trixie came down from her room, and asked where Pollux was. She remembered nothing of the event, and nothing was ever said about it, other than Pollux had crossed Orion and was expelled from the family.**

**Time passed, and Orion arranged her marriage to Rudolphus LeStrange, after having a mediwitch certify that she was still, in fact, a virgin. It seems that Pollux may well have been a closet homosexual as well.**

**On her wedding night, Rudolphus and Rastaban both tried to... um, consummate the marriage at the same time. Neither were successful, and as a result must now... shall we way... sit down to pee. **

**Trixie knows none of this. Nor does she have any idea that she was ever in Azkaban, and has no idea why her marriage has never been consummated properly. She is aware of large gaps of time missing, but is actually quite immature. I would put her emotional level at about a 12 year old girl's, and a mental capacity at about six or seven, other than her spell knowledge. It is quite extensive, but she never uses an unforgivable.**

**Bella, however knows exactly what she has been doing, and seems to take great pride in every curse she has used on a man. Any man. It does not matter to her whether this is an enemy or an ally. She sees all men in the same mold. This aside, she currently has the emotional level of a ninety year old werewolf suffering from PMS on a full moon. Her mental capacity borders on geniius.**

**This leads to quite erratic behavior from her, and is one of the main reasons that Bellatrix is never in charge on any raids we are go on. If she is to be on a raid, Either I, Narcissa, or Lucius will be the leader. Normally, Trixie will be using the body, and can usually be dealt with by telling her that we are going to burn this house because there are "bad people in there."**

**Stress seems to bring Bella out, and only calming the girl down slowly will bring Trixie back. Usually this takes a day or two. It's not pleasant to be a male in her company during that time.**

**Trixie idolized Sirius. She did not mean to kill him. In fact, his death is what brought Bella out.**

_Oh sure. What about Tonks? Am I to believe that it was Bella then, too?_

**Oh, no. That was Trixie. In either form, in a one on one duel, only two people have even gotten to a draw with her. I am one, and I beat her. You are the other. I broke up the fight at that time.**

**Ask yourself, and ask others. What spells were used when Trixie was duelling this Tonks person and Sirius? Since you cannot shield from an unforgivable, I must assume that it was Trixie. The fighting style was all wrong for Bella.**

**What was her first curse at you? The Cruciatus. That was Bella. It's her favorite lead off spell. Trixie does not use it. I don't know if she is capable of it.**

**After I got her back to my headquarters, I calmed her down to allow Trixie to come out. She has been inconsolable ever since our battle at the Ministry.**

**In her current state, she is no use to me. In her insane state, she is no use to either of us. As a Black, her wellbeing is your responsibility, Lord Black. I will release my hold on her, and remove my mark. Yes, it is possible, but very painful for both myself and the marked. I will stun her first, and take the pain myself, and portkey her to a place that you declare.**

_Wait a minute. She's a LeStrange now. Why isn't this their problem?_

**Because the marriage was never consummated. Therefore, her marriage can still be annulled by you. She is still a Black.**

_And assuming that I do honor your request, and that you convince me that she is still a Black. What can I do about it?_

**Get her help. The muggles have very good ways to deal with this, ranging from drugs to help with some of the other problems to psychotherapy, group therapy, and other ways. The only other way to help her is to kill her and put her out of her misery.**

Harry thought about it. If this was really on the level, could he kill an innocent? He didn't think so. Even if it was the body of the person that killed Sirius. If he was telling the truth, Trixie didn't mean to kill him, and it was an accident. If he wasn't, he'd probably end up getting some muggles killed that were trying to help him deal with the insane witch.

_I'm going to have to think on this, Tom. If I can check out some of your story, I will probably agree. If not, then the answer will be no._

**I understand. Thank you for your time, and your help in this matter.**

_I haven't agreed to anything yet._

**I know. But you will.**

_Well, it's late, Tom. I'm going to sleep. I will get back with you after I check some stuff out._

**That is fine. Good Night, Harry.**

_G'Night Tom._

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

In Little Hangleton, Tom closed the book. Potter would go for it. At worst, he got rid of a psycho bitch from hell/whiny little twit in the same body.

At best, he ridded himself of the traitor Snape and placed a better spy in with Harry. Harry's actions against Snape would destroy either himself or the Order.

Tom smiled. All it would cost him was a bit of pain, two bodies, and three rather untrustworthy personalities. Pain he could stand. Bodies he had plenty of. Untrustworthy personalities he couldn't afford. It was a three way win, with next to nothing as a downside.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A/N: The explosive castration spell was borrowed with permission from (in my own not so humble opinion) one of the kings of FF (dot) NET humor, Rorschach's Blot. If you haven't already, check out his stories. They are awesome.

JaCee.


	14. Very busy Saturday

Notice: Harry Potter, Tom Riddle, and any other characters you may recognize in this story are the property of JKR and/or whoever had the brains, contacts, and cash (or other negotiable items) to secure the rights to them. Alas, I had the brains, just none of the other stuff.

A/N: As a lot of this will be written conversation between HJP & TMR, _Harry's writing will be in italics_, and **Tom's will be bold.**

A very busy Saturday

The next morning was Saturday, and Harry slept in. Well, "slept in" for him. He was awakened at 8:00 as Andromeda and Ted came through the living room headed for the kitchen. Ted accidentally bumped the couch, startling Harry. Harry was instantly awake, and rolling off the couch onto the floor, wand at the ready.

Ted held his hands up and said "Easy, Harry. Didn't mean to scare you."

Harry, on hand and knees in just his boxers, blushed. "Sorry about that. Just a little bit jumpy lately."

Andromeda, looking over his shoulder, saw Harry's back and paled. "Oh, Merlin, Harry! What ever happened to you?"

"What? Oh, that was just my Uncle's version of punishment, generally. No big deal." Harry said, trying to find a shirt to cover up with.

"Harry! What do you mean punishment? That's abuse, plain and simple. Does anybody know about this?" Andromeda asked.

"Well, Tonks and Remus, and Dumbledore. Oh, and my room mates at Hogwarts. Nurse Pomphrey, probably Molly and Arthur. That's about it that I can think of. Like I said. No big deal. It's not like anything was done about it. At least until Tonks and Remus got me out of there. It's over with, the whale is in the hospital, and I'm out of there. What's done is done." Harry said, buttoning up the shirt and looking for his pants.

As he turned around, she saw the state of his boxers. "Honey, we're going shopping for you first thing. We can't have Lord Black walking around looking like a beggar."

"Well, right this second I'd settle for not having anybody either kill me or kidnap me. Fashion can wait." Harry replied.

"No. I don't think that it can. Appearance is everything. A powerful image protects the projector of the image." Andi said. "It doesn't matter what world it is in, magical or muggle. If the image is right, half of the battle is already won."

"Okay. We'll take care of that sooner, instead of later. In the mean time, what can you tell me about your sisters growing up?" Harry asked.

"Well, we were just three sisters. I was the eldest, Narcissa was the middle child, and Bellatrix was the youngest. Narcissa was the beauty, I was the brains, and Bellatrix was the baby. I was originally slated to be married to Lucius, but rebelled and managed to escape from The Black and my mother at the handfasting, and threw it all away for this gorgeous young man that I fell in love with. I was never happier than when the minister pronounced us. Well, other than that evening when we consummated the union." Andi said, smiling at the memory of her younger self.

"Narcissa never spoke to me again. As she was the next oldest, Orion forced her to take over the marriage contract with Lucius, and kept her in a gilded cage until the handfasting. Her every wish was fulfilled, except to leave. She was watched by Walberga from the time the contract was reforged until the moment of the ceremony. I don't think she even went to the loo by herself.

"Trixie was the baby, as I said. We all loved her dearly. We all spoiled her rotten, I'm afraid. She was as smart as I, almost as beautiful as Narcissa, and stronger than us both. In school, she was the best dueler. She never lost an even duel. She was fast, she was knowledgeable, and always seemed to know what the other person was going to do before they even did. I don't know if she was a natural legilimens or just really good at reading people, but she was incredible when she was crossing wands with someone."

At this point, Tonks came into the kitchen and poured herself some tea. "Hi Mum, Dad, Harry. What's going on?"

Harry looked at her and said "I just thought I would find out a little bit about the other person in my Family, Tonks. Since it's me and Bella, I thought I might as well get some background on her."

"Oh, Okay. Carry on." Tonks said as she sat down and sipped her tea, listening closely.

"Oh, and she used to think that cousin Sirius was just soooo cute! Sirius was a year behind us, but she had a thing for him... Bad. She sabotaged more of his snogging sessions than I can count, but Sirius was always nice to her. I think that Sirius looked at her like she was a little sister that he never had, even though she was older than him by six months. It got to the point that it was a game between them every Saturday night. Sort of a hide and go seek with Sirius getting some benefits from his girl of the week."

"What about before Hogwarts? What were you three like back then?" Harry asked.

"Why are you asking all of these questions about us?" Andi asked.

Harry decided to come clean. Or at least as clean as he was able, given the restrictions placed on him by the deal with Tom about the notebook. "I have a... source in Voldemort's camp. I don't know if I can trust anything that this source tells me, but I can say that he hasn't lied to me yet. He told me that Bellatrix was having severe problems with Sirius' death. I'm trying to figure out if this is a trap, or if it's a matter of family honor. Seeing as how currently the only family I have is the person that recently killed my godfather, I'm having some teensy weensy little problems believing that this is on the level. If it IS on the truth, though, I'd be remiss in my duties as Lord Black if I didn't help her. So I'm stuck without more information."

Tonks looked at him skeptically. "Harry, how high placed is this source of yours? How do you know that this isn't just a set up?"

"Well, he's pretty high up, but I have no clue if it's a set up or not. Like I said, I don't really trust him, but I don't want to lose another family member and be the sole member of two wizarding families." Harry said. "That's why I need to know about Bellatrix."

"Okay," Andromeda said. "I think I understand where you are looking for.

"Well, everything was pretty normal until Father died the summer before I went to Hogwarts. Mother never told us what exactly happened, but I think that it was because a business associate thought that he had cheated him, and took offense at it."

"Narcissa took it badly. She was going to be ten years old the next week. She was Father's favorite, I think. She was a gorgeous little blond haired girl, and had Father wrapped around her little finger."

"Trixie didn't really understand what was going on. She was six at the time. All she knew was that all of a sudden, Father wasn't in her life. We all tried to keep her happy. We would play games with her, take her places like the zoo or to quidditch matches, have parties just for her. Anything to keep her happy.

"Then, the Black arranged for Pollux to marry Mother, one year after the death of our father Cygnus. Neither Mother nor Trixie were happy from that point on for quite some time, but Trixie would never talk to us about it. Naturally Mother did not say anything to us. We were just children.

"Pollux was not exactly a loving step father. He was not abusive to Narcissa or I, just... cold. I think he WAS abusive to Mother. All of a sudden she would have a lot of bruises when we would come home on holiday. The healed up quickly, but always new ones would show up. When we asked her about them, she would simply say that she tripped and fell against a table, or hit a door, or some other excuse. Trixie was withdrawn. There were bags under her eyes all the time. Any time that someone would come into her room when she was asleep she would start crying. She would flinch away from us any time that we would lift a hand to do anything when we were around her."

"One night during the summer holiday during my third year, we heard her scream something in the middle of the night. 'Cissa, Mother and I ran into her room to find her dancing around a gravely injured Pollux, laughing and shouting every curse that she could come up with at him, holding Father's wand. Pollux was laying on the floor, pants off, and clutching at his groin, which was bleeding heavily.

"We gently pulled her away from Pollux, and Mother contacted Orion, who was now the Black. Orion came immediately, and we never saw Pollux again. Trixie would not calm down. She kept insisting that her name was 'Belladonna de Montaigne.' Not Bellatrix Black. It took her three days to come back to us and answer to the name of Trixie or Bellatrix. She did not remember anything of harming Pollux, or Belladonna de Montaigne, or anything like that. She was just Trixie again. Not quite the 'old' Trixie, but not anything like this 'de Montaigne' Trixie. It was almost like she was possessed."

"Were there any physical differences between Belladonna and Bellatrix?" Harry asked?

"Yes. Her eyes were violet. Trixie's eyes are blue-gray, just like mine, and just like Nymphadora's in her natural state. It's a Black trait. Her voice was different, too. A bit deeper, and a lot harsher. And she knew and said words that I didn't know that Trixie had ever even heard of. Some of them I wasn't even too sure of, and Mother threatened to use a scourgify charm on my mouth when I asked her what a 'motherfuckering faggot faced cocksucker' was. Remember, this was the early seventies, and things are a bit different now. Back then, nine year old girls never said anything like that."

"So far as I know of, Trixie was normal again after that. At least up until she married Rudolphus. She would send me owls from school. I couldn't hear from her during the holidays since I was already kicked out of the family. That didn't matter to her until that point. I've not heard from her since.

"Does that help you out?" Andromeda asked.

"Yes. I think it does. Tonks? What color were her eyes when you were fighting her? And what spells was she using?" Harry asked.

"Blue-gray, the standard Black eyes. And mostly the low level stuff. I'd have had her if I hadn't lost my balance. Then she stunned me half way up the steps and all of my real injuries were caused by falling down thirty feet of stairs. What color were they when you were going up against her?"

"Um, violet. And she led off with a Cruciatus," Harry said.

Looking at all three of the Tonks', Harry grinned and said "So far, what you have told me matches up with what my source has said. My source said that Trixie is well, but that Bella um... removed the LeStrange brothers from the gene pool on her wedding night, the same as Pollux." Ted reflexively moved a hand in front of his crotch with a pained expression on his face.

"Oh, really!" Andromeda laughed. "Well, there goes yet another 'Ancient and Noble House.'"

"Now," Harry said. "The only problem is if it was all a set up, it would make sense for it to have a truthful background, and the lie would be on the current situation. That could very well end the Black House as well."

"I hate to say it, but it now IS a matter of honor. It is your responsibility to ensure the well being of your family. Just as it is your family's responsibility to maintain the honor of the family, and act in accordance to it's Lord." Andromeda said.

Harry groaned. He vaguely remembered Snaghook mentioning something about that the day before. "Okay. So I go in expecting a trap, and if it isn't I get a pleasant surprise. If it is, kill them all and let Merlin sort 'em out, I guess.

If it isn't, my source doesn't seem to think it's actually a possession, but what muggles call Dissociative Identity Disorder. It used to be called Multiple Personality Syndrome. So now, assuming that this isn't a trap, I've got to find a healer or someone that can figure out if it's a possession or this MPS thingy. Then, if it is a possession, get her unpossessed or repossessed or whatever it is. If it isn't, I have to track down a psychiatrist or whatever to deal with this MPS and hope and pray that Bella doesn't go ballistic and choke the poor guy with his own organs."

Ted spoke up at this point. "I might know of a person that would be able to help. He's a psychiatrist at Edinburgh Royal Hospital. He's not really a wizard, but he isn't exactly a muggle either. I'll check with a friend of mine in Lothian and Borders Police force to see if he is taking new patients."

"Not exactly a muggle? How can you be not a wizard and not a muggle?" Harry asked.

Ted grinned. "Well, there's magic, and then there's magic. He doesn't practice our version of magic, but the important thing is that he does get results, and my friend says that he's been in his fair share of scrapes with the strange and unusual. By the sounds of it, it'd take something pretty nasty to take him out of the picture, and he never works without a backup."

Ted looked at his wife and daughter and nodded slightly. Andromeda said "Harry. Lord Black. Ted, Nymphadora and I would like to be back in the Black family. That is, if you would have us. Nymphadora brought it up to me last night, and I spoke with it to Ted as we were getting ready to go to bed. It's not much, but we would like to consider ourselves as part of your family."

Harry was taken aback. He knew that Sirius had wanted Tonks to be back in the family, but Andi and Tonks? What was the point of them coming back? He had nothing to offer them that they didn't already have, other than himself. It didn't sound like a good trade off for them to make to him. "Why would you want to do this? I mean, I'd be more than happy to do it, but I don't see what the big deal is, and to be honest, I have no clue what I'm doing as the leader of the family."

"Harry. We want to do this, because we want to help you. Nymphadora has exquisite taste in people. If she sees something worthwhile in you, then there is something. She believes in you, and having had our little heart to heart with you last night, we believe in you as well. Even if that wasn't enough, you're going to try to get my sister back for me." Andi replied.

"Oh. Um. That's great. Now I just have to figure out how to put you guys back into the family." Harry said sheepishly.

Andromeda spoke up at that point. "Oh, that's no problem. We can work up an oath, we all swear to it, and it's a done deal. We can word it so that it will not be an impossible oath on anyone's side. Generally it will work along the lines of the patriarch of the family agrees to protect the person's health and honor against all attackers, to work in the common good of the family, and to adjudicate any disputes within the family in a fair and even manner. In turn, the applicant will agree to follow the patriarch's direction in all ways which would affect the family, offer up honest opinions to the patriarch when asked, uphold the honor of the family, work for the common good of the family and take any unresolvable interfamily disputes to the patriarch for judgment. How does that sound?"

Harry said "Okay. Let's see if I got this straight. I, Harry James Black-Potter, patriarch of the Black family, do swear to defend Andromeda Tonks, Ted Tonks, and Nymphadora Tonks' health and honor against all attacks, to work for the common good of the Ancient and Noble House of Black, and to adjudicate any and all unresolvable disputes between each of them and any other member of the Family Black. Right?"

Andromeda said "That's got it. Ted, Nymphadora, are you ready to be Blacks?"

With their assent, Andromeda began. "I, Andromeda Tonks do hereby swear to Harry James Black-Potter, patriarch of the Ancient and Noble House of Black, on my magic to follow his direction in all ways that would affect the Black family, offer up honest opinions to the patriarch when asked, uphold the honor of the Ancient and Noble House of Black, work for the common good of the House of Black, and to take any unresolvable interfamily disputes to him for judgment and so abide by his adjudication." A wave of magic passed through the house.

This was repeated by Ted and Tonks. Harry then stated his oath to his new family members.

"Okay, so Andi, do I call you Mum, now?" he asked with a grin.

"Um, actually, as YOU are the patriarch, Harry, we could actually call you Father." Ted said with a grin. Harry groaned. Well, a weird family was better than none at all.

"Okay," Tonks said brightly. "Harry, you got three new family members, while we got two new ones, and all before breakfast! Would you mind doing the honors, your Chef Patriarchal-ness? I want you to show Mum and Dad your skills in the kitchen! That, and I wouldn't say no to another great omelet from you. Mum and Dad already know that I burn water for the tea."

Harry laughed "Andi? Ted? If you don't mind my borrowing your kitchen, what would you like for breakfast?"

Andi grinned and said "If you do the cooking, I'll do the dishes after we eat. Sound good, My Lord?"

Harry grinned back and said "Good to me. Now, I know Tonks' order, how about you two?"

Harry cooked, and was grinning while his two new family members raved about his cooking. After dinner, Andi went in to do the dishes. As she started, Harry came up and started drying and putting them away. "Harry, the deal was you cook, I clean. Remember?" Andi said.

"I know. I also know that it gets done faster if you share the load." Harry said with a smile. " A very wise man told me that. Funnily enough, it was because he was helping me do the dishes as well. Seems to work just as well from the drying side as it does from the washing. Shall we?" Harry picked up another dish. Andi just shook her head at her new patriarch. This was going to take a lot of getting used to, for all of them.

As they finished the dishes, Andi smiled and said "Okay. Breakfast and dishes are out of the way. Now, what?"

Harry looked at her and said, "Well, you said I had to go shopping, and I was thinking. With the heat on me and Tonks here in London, maybe it was time to go underground for a bit. Since Ted said that the shrink he had in mind worked out of Edinburgh, maybe I should go to ground in Scotland, meet up with him, see if he will help, and see about getting Trixie up there."

Tonks scowled and said "Hang on. What's this I stuff, boss? That should be a WE. You aren't going anywhere without me."

Ted and Andi looked at each other, and then at the two and Ted said "Us. You aren't going without US. Besides, I'm the one that knows Noel, and he is the one that knows the Doc. Besides, it's been a while since we've been up to Edinburgh."

Harry looked at the three, and sighed and said "Okay. Us. Now, how do we do this? I need some money from Gringott's, a way to get my stuff back, and someplace to stay."

"Easy enough," said Andi, taking charge of the situation. "Ted, you go get his stuff. Make sure to check it all for tracking charms. Then bring it back here. Harry, if you give Tonks your ring and your key, She can access your account. That will keep you out of Diagon Alley until we can get you looking like a beggar. I'll give you a makeover and show you some makeup tricks to make you look a bit less conspicuous."

The other three stood there for a moment, dumbstruck. Andi saw this and said "Well? Close the mouths before one of you swallows a fly, and get moving. Harry, give her the key and the ring. Ted, go to your daughter's flat. Move it, people!" Startled, all three started moving at once, while Andi laughed.

Finally, they all got sorted out, and off to their prospective tasks. Andi took Harry into the bathroom, and showed him how to use foundation to hide his scar, thin his eyebrows a bit, and how to transfigure the frames of his glasses into a more stylish look. Next, it was time for the hair. She tried combing it into different styles without success. Nothing seemed to help, even a full bottle of Sleakeazy's. Admitting defeat, she finally said "I don't know what we can do with this mop. I have some potions here that can change it to a light brown or a strawberry blond, but it's going to be asking a bit much for getting it to lay straight."

"Well, I'm used to the hair being a mess. It doesn't seem to matter what I do to it. It just goes back to this. I don't think blond would be a good look for me. I keep thinking that would make me look too much like Malfoy." Harry shuddered, and then continued. "I wouldn't mind the light brown, though. Maybe a hat would help?"

"I think that we can add a ball cap in on our shopping trip."

About that time, Ted showed up. "Harry, you have got someone looking for you really hard. It's a good thing that I did go in there. They went through and put up six different detection wards, and put tracking charms on every bit of your property. They even put four different ones on your owl!"

"That sounds like Moody's work," Harry laughed. "Only he would set up something like that."

"Well, I didn't feel like getting mangled by that owl of yours by apparating, so I just told her to head for you after I got all of the spells off her. She'll be here in a minute. Here's your trunk. I pitched all of the clothes. I hope you don't mind. Otherwise I'd still be there, and they didn't look like Andi here would let you have them anymore anyway. I know what she's like when she goes shopping." Ted said.

Tonks apparated back to the living room. As she handed Harry back his key and ring, she also handed him a billfold, a small stack of papers, and a small Gringott's money bag. "Harry, you have two sets of identification papers now. You are either Harry James Black-Potter or James Harrison Black. Both of them are eighteen, and you have their driver's license, birth certificates and passport. You also have in the billfold one thousand pounds in various denominations, and six prepaid credit cards, each with one thousand pounds on them. In the money bag you have ten thousand galleons, and another twenty thousand pounds. If you will prick your finger and put a drop of blood on the billfold and the money bag, they will only be able to be opened by you, and will find you if they are misplaced or stolen. Oh, and they are almost indestructible as well. Can't be cut, burned, crushed, and are waterproof. With that kind of money, you ought to be able to disappear for a long, long time."

The money reminded Harry of something. "Oh, Tonks. Do you have a broom available? And one for Remus? We have a meeting tomorrow morning, remember?"

"I've got a Comet 260 at home. I don't know about Remus. Sounds like I need to make another trip to Diagon. You've been down in that cave before, so any preference on broom types?"

Ted said "What's this about a meeting tomorrow?"

"Oh, no big deal," Harry said. "We just need to meet up with an armorer about picking up a few hundred square feet of basilisk skin and he's going to make us some armor for it and stuff like that. "

"A few HUNDRED feet?" Ted choked. "There's no way there's that much basilisk skin in England!"

"Oh, it's not. It's in Scotland." Harry replied with a smile.

"Wait a minute. You're GIVING him the skin? Not trying to buy it from him?" Ted asked.

"Yeah. And in return, he's giving us some opaleye armor and battle robes, and in a month will have three sets of Basilisk and Nundu hide armor for us to pick up." Harry said.

"Basilisk AND Nundu? That can't be cheap. I hear they're ten times as resistant to spells as a dragon."

"Yeah, that's what Hagrid said one night when we were talking. He said he really wanted to try raising one from a kitten, and that they were even more misunderstood than dragons. Needless to say, we asked him to warn us before he got one. The Fluffy and Norbert were bad enough." Harry shuddered at the memories from first year.

"Fluffy? Norbert? What were those?" Andi asked.

"Well, Fluffy was a Cerberus; a three headed dog that was ten feet at the shoulder. Norbert was a Norwegian Ridgeback that Hagrid raised from an egg for about a month before we managed to talk him into letting Charlie Weasley take it to the Dragon Preserve in Romania. Almost burned down his hut a half dozen times that I know of, not counting the times I don't know about." Harry replied.

"Harry," Ted said. "We are going to have to have a long, LONG talk very soon."

"Funny, that's what Remus said." Harry grinned.

"Harry, we're going with you to this meeting of yours tomorrow. It sounds like you need someone to guard your back. Nymphadora, honey. When you pick up the brooms, pick me and Ted up one as well. We'll pay you back when you tell us how much."

"No. I think this falls under the classification of 'for the good of the family.' Also, you two WILL be getting measured for a set of armor as well. If you are going to be 'guarding my back,' you will need it. It also means that the Black Patriarch is picking up the tab. Let's see. Remus, Andi, Ted, Forrester, and his apothecary friend. Tonks, leave yours at your flat. According to your Dad, Moody's been doing some breaking and entering as well as going tracking charm happy lately, so I bet he put one on your stuff as well. So, You will pick up six Cleansweep Elevens. They aren't as fast as my Firebolt, but the handling is better, and they are fast enough to handle most stuff. Besides, it's not like we're going to be going very fast down in the Chamber, anyway. Do you need to go back to Gringott's for this, or will the ten thousand I have here take care of it?" Harry said. He decided he liked that phrase 'for the good of the family.' It meant he could get away with doing just about anything he wanted to, and the others wouldn't keep trying to pay him back for it. Besides. Just a few more people and they'd have their own quidditch team.

"Harry, a thousand will take care of it, but we can easily afford to pay for the brooms, and we don't need the armor." Ted said.

"No. I have enough money roaming around that I could by a different Firebolt for every day for the rest of my life and STILL not spend it all. And the armor is not up for discussion. I swore to protect you not two hours ago, and Forrester said that the armor he's going to be making even has a shot at stopping a killing curse. If you are going to be running around with me, you've got to know that I have enemies. Really NASTY enemies. That means you WILL accept the armor. You don't have to like it, but you do have to accept it."

"Yes, Lord Black." Ted said.

"Thank you. I know you don't agree with it, but it's like I told Remus and Tonks before even going to the armorer's in the first place. I have so much money it's not even funny. What I've never had is a family. If I had to give away all of the money I now have in order to keep you safe, I'll do it and not even blink." Harry said.

Touched, Andi said "I understand, Harry. Thank you, and we will of course follow your wishes. Right Ted?"

"I still don't like it, but I will accept it," Ted agreed.

Harry counted out a thousand galleons, put it in his old money bag and handed it to Tonks. There was a -pop-, and she was gone. A short time later, Tonks returned, with the six brooms in their cases shrank and placed in a bag. "Harry, I thought the salesman was going to faint! I was in my little old lady disguise and walked in and said I wanted six of the new Cleansweeps. Then I took one out to the testing grounds and put the man into a panic when I pulled off a Wronski Feint right on top of him. Oh. He gave us a fifteen percent discount for the bulk purchase. Here's your change back." With that, she handed Harry back over two hundred galleons.

"Now, If there is nothing else..." Andi said, and then Tonks joined in and together they cried "Harrod's!" Ted and Harry groaned. Shopping.

Andi transfigured Harry's ragged, illfitting clothing to something acceptable, and they all apparated to a nearby alley. A short time later, they entered the clothier's. A very long time after this, they exited. Ted and Harry's arms were full of bags until they reached the alley. At that time they shrank the bags, and placed them into a pocket.

When they returned to the Tonks residence, Harry looked at Tonks and said "My place or yours?"

When Andi and Ted looked at the pair in askance, Tonks took pity on them and said "Sirius left me the summer manor at Edinburgh, while Harry inherited the Potter summer place somewhere around Inverness. We've never been to either one, so Gringott's got us portkeys for them the other day."

"Well, since Royal Edinburg Hospital is where he works, I think we should probably go to your place, Nymphadora." Andi said. "Then, if we need privacy, we can use Harry's place. Given the fact that we are going to be going into unknown territory with Trixie, we might want to keep her there, out of the way and out of sight. This is going to bring up another sticky problem. Even if everything is on the up and up, she is still a wanted criminal. If anyone finds her, she's going back to Azkaban. If Bella was the one that was in charge then, and Trixie has no memory of those years, I don't know how she would handle being in prison. Especially if the dementors are returned."

Harry said "She won't be going to Azkaban. Belladonna de Montaigne committed the crimes. If this is comes off right, Belladonna will no longer be alive. We will effectively be sentencing her to death. I think I can get a solicitor that can argue that, and if all else fails, I'll just pull a Malfoy and buy off the judges. If he can do it, I don't see why I can't."

Tonks looked at him and frowned. "Harry, officially I'm still an auror. I can't be hearing stuff like that coming from my patriarch. It puts me in a conflict of interest."

"So? Retire. I was thinking I'd hire you and Remus to be my combination body guards and teachers. Andromeda? I would like to hire you as well as the Black family financial manager. I haven't got the foggiest idea what I'm doing with money. I didn't even know how much brooms cost, for Merlin's sake. I get the feeling that I need someone I trust to help me with this stuff or I'm going to get taken so bad it's not even funny. Ted, I'd like you to go over the wards on all of our properties. I don't want anybody able to just waltz in any time they decide to unless I trust them. I've already got a bunch of freeloaders at the London Manor House that I'm going to have to kick out, but I don't think I'm ready for that action just yet. The worst of it is that it's under a Fidelius charm and the secret keeper is the one that's trying to kidnap me. After you get the wards situated, I want you to teach me how to do it, and anything else you can come up with."

As all three nodded, Harry grinned and said "Good. Now as far as salaries, just have a chat with my financial manager."

"Harry!" Andromeda protested. "You can't do that! I could rob you blind! You need to set the salaries at least!"

"Okay. Andi, how much did you make last year?" Harry asked.

"It was right in the neighborhood of fifty thousand galleons. I happen to be very good at what I do." She said.

"All right. Double it. That's your salary. Ted? How about you?"

"Well, part time, it ended up at twenty eight thousand." Ted said.

"Okay. Since this is going to be a full time job, how about we say seventy five? Tonks?"

"Well, auror pay pretty much sucks. You don't go into it for the money, you go into it because you want to. We're pretty much adrenaline junkies. It's about ten." Tonks said.

"Well, we can't have that. Seventy five for you as well. Are we all agreed?"

The Tonks family were gobsmacked. Harry just offered them more than the Minister of Magic makes just to do what they would willingly do for free. Andromeda found her voice first. "I accept, and you're right. You DO need a financial advisor. You've offered us easily three times what the positions are worth."

"Well, there's a saying. You get what you pay for. I expect all three of you to be the very best at what you do, and I expect you to teach me how to be the best as well. 250,000 galleons a year – 325,000 if Remus accepts, isn't even five percent of the interest the two estates make in the year. That means I could hire fifty more people at these wages and still not touch the principal.

"Okay. Tonks, do you accept? If you don't then I need you to go to a different room for a minute." Harry said with a grin.

"Yes, Harry. I accept. When Hedwig gets here I'll send Madam Bones my resignation. Actually, I'm curious what you want to talk to Mum and Dad about."

"Well, our discussion reminded me that werewolves are getting a raw deal. How much money am I going to have to bribe the Wizengamot with to get them all repealed, Andi?"

"Hmm. I'm not too sure that there is a way to get them pulled. Unfortunately, with Fenrir roaming around out there stirring up trouble, some of the Conservatives are pretty staunchly against it." Andi said.

"Andi, if they repealed the garbage about the hiring restrictions and auror oversight garbage, Fenrir wouldn't be able to stir up as much trouble. Oh, and try to track down a potion master, and the number of werewolves in the country. I want to provide free wolf's bane potion to all werewolves that can't afford it. If we can get all of them to the point that they aren't harmful, maybe we can convince everyone of the fact that they aren't 'Dark Creatures,' but someone that happens to have a debilitating disease that happens to afflict them every twenty eight days. Hell, if all else fails, I'll hire all of them and put them to work myself!" Harry siad.

"Potions master and potions will be no problem. I'll get started on that. I agree with you on the repeals and the fact that they are just people that were unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, but I still don't know about getting it repealed. I'll put out some discrete inquiries and see what we can come up with. Some of the Wizengamot members may just need to be convinced, not bought." Andy said with a smile. "The other thing you might want to consider hiring would be a personal secretary and a social secretary."

"Personal secretary, maybe Remus can do that for me as well. He's good with words. I'm not going to be going to too many society events until I get Dumbledore off my back, though." Harry said.

"Well, that's going to have to be a priority. Lord Black is going to be on all of the A-Lists for parties and events. Everyone is going to want to get to know you and making these contacts can help you out greatly on your political quests." Andromeda said.

"I don't have any political quests!" Harry exclaimed.

"Of course you do, Harry. You want Dumbledore placed in a position that he can't get to you. You also want the Ministry off your back. Thirdly, you want the Wizengamot to change the laws around. All of these are going to require political clout. That requires you to smooze with the socialites. Oh, and there's that marriage and mistress thing hanging over your head. That has to be taken care of as well, and will require social appointments, too." Andromeda explained.

Harry groaned. Why couldn't Tom just have killed him when he was a baby? Either that, or gone after Neville.

At that point, Tonks piped in "Just make sure that you don't have Mum setting you up on the blind dates. It's not a fun experience. The last guy she set me up with was too ugly for a seeing dog."

Andromeda glared at her daughter, and said "There was nothing at all wrong with Steve. He was a sweet young man, rich, and had good genes."

"Yeah, and all he wanted was for me to change into his Mum when we were snogging, Mother. Eew!" Tonks retorted.

"All right, all right. I won't do it again. Besides, I don't have to. That's Lord Black's job now." Andi said with a smile.

"WHAT! What are you talking about?" Harry said.

"It's a common practice for the patriarch of the family to arrange the marriages for it's young ladies." Andi said with a grin, knowing full well that that was the reason she was cast out of the family in the first place.

"Don't worry, Tonks. That's not going to happen. You get to decide who you're going to marry." Harry said.

"Well, do we have any other items on the agenda, or are we ready to go check out Tonk's new house?" Harry asked.

No one could come up with anything, so Tonks pulled out a shoestring and said "Okay everybody. Grab on."

With a jerk from somewhere behind the navel area and a swirl of light, they were gone.

As they landed, Harry again hit the floor. "I hate wizarding travel. About the only time I liked it was last night, and I still fell over." He said, smiling at the memory.

"Well, I guess that I will just have to make sure that you travel in the manner that you like more often." Tonks said.

As they surveyed the manor home, they saw that while dusty, it was definitely in better shape than Grimmauld Place. Andromeda had been there when she was a child, and remembered where everything was. A lot of cleaning spells later, the kitchen, dining room, living room and three bedrooms were livable. Andromeda and Ted went back to their home and brought back food stuffs for at least a couple of days to stock the larder.

Finally, they all went to bed and collapsed. Before going to sleep, Harry quickly wrote in the notebook "_Tom, I accept your proposal in regards to Trixie. It will take a few days to nail down the details on my side for her treatment, but I will get back to you on where and when I will collect her._"

After this, Harry practiced clearing his mind, and went to sleep.

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A/N: All rights to Dr. Adam Sinclair, Noel MacLeod, and Ethan Peregrine are owned by Kathryn Kurtz, Mercedes Lackey, and their publishers. I am just borrowing them for a minor bit part. If you haven't read the Adept series from them, I highly recommend it.


	15. A trip to the Chamber

Notice: Harry Potter, Tom Riddle, and any other characters you may recognize in this story are the property of JKR and/or whoever had the brains, contacts, and cash (or other negotiable items) to secure the rights to them. Alas, I had the brains, just none of the other stuff.

A/N: As a lot of this will be written conversation between HJP & TMR, _Harry's writing will be in italics_, and **Tom's will be bold.**

A Trip to the Chamber

The next morning, Harry once again awoke at 5:00. The first thing he did was check the notebook. Tom had replied with "**Harry, Thank you for your assistance in this matter. My information will take the form of a recent history lesson. I know that you still have Binns as your current teacher, and I understand from my associates that his obsession with the Goblin rebellions is as strong as it was when I was attending. I trust you will find my lesson a bit more interesting than his. Just let me know when you will be available.**"

'Hmm. Recent history. Well, I just hope that it really will be more interesting than Binns. Of course, I don't think it could possibly be worse!' Harry thought to himself, bringing a smile to his face.

Harry got up, and went to the bathroom. It was dusty, but still functional. He cast several cleaning spells on the room, and then tracked down everything he would need for a shower. The water woke him up, and he felt he was ready to face the day. He put on a pair of jeans and a Westhampton football T-shirt, a pair of sturdy hiking boots, and a ball cap with the West Ham logo on it. The clothing was much tighter than he was used to, but it felt pretty good in a way. Harry reflected that it was probably because they were correctly fitted, clean,new, and most importantly, HIS. Other than the jumpers Mrs. Weasley had knitted him for Christmas, he'd never had any clothes that were any of the above.

Since Tonks was not awake yet, and knowing that she loved his cooking, Harry went with a standard breakfast. Eggs, bacon, sausage and toast. He cooked the eggs with the grease from the bacon and sausage to give it just a touch more flavor. He quickly transfigured a couple of tea towels into trays, and plated everything up on four plates. He added orange juice, tea, and coffee to each tray, and set off down the hallway to the bedrooms. He knocked on Ted and Andi's door. When Andi said it was safe to come in, he presented them with their tray.

He took the other tray to Tonks' room and slipped in. Since Tonks had said the last time he did this not to call her by her given name, he set the tray on the dresser and snuck up to the bed. The first thing he did was stash her wand in the drawer of the night table. "Dora... Dora... Wakey wakey Dora..." He gently called as he took both of her wrists in one of his hands.

Tonks woke up, realized what she was being called, grabbed his forearm with both hands and rolled quickly away. This had the effect of dragging a very surprised Harry onto the bed on his stomach. Tonks quickly broke his hold and crawled on top of his back.

"Do not call me that. In fact, I will help you out here." Tonks said. "Do not call me Nymphadora, Dora, Nymph, Nymmie, or any other possible cute and lovable nickname created by the use of my first name. Do you understand, Mr. Potter?"

"Yes, Miss Tonks. I understand. I understand that the next time I grab your wrists, I make sure that I hold them from the outside." Harry laughed.

The laughing continued as an outraged Tonks began mercilessly tickling his ribs. Harry thrashed, but could not move. Finally, Harry gasped out "I give! I give, Tonks. Now, do you want breakfast, or do you want to torture me some more?"

Tonks quickly got off of him, and sat up against the head of the bed. "What's on the menu for this morning, Chef Harry?" She asked with a grin.

"Excuse me. I believe that's 'Chef Patriarchal-ness Harry,'" he replied with a grin of his own. "Just a normal breakfast today, I'm afraid. Eggs, bacon, sausage, toast. OJ, tea and coffee to drink. Now, budge over a bit. I need a place to sit too."

As they were eating, Tonks said "You know, a girl could get used to this kind of treatment, Harry. That, and get fat from it too! Excellent meal, Chef Patriarchal-ness Harry. Thank you. And thanks for the excellent company as well."

"Well, I don't think you'll get fat from it today. I get the feeling that we'll be burning off the energy rather quickly down in the Chamber, even if nothing bad happens." Harry replied.

"Oh, that's right! What time is it?" Tonks asked.

"It's about 7:00," Harry replied. "I wanted everyone to be ready when we went into Hogsmeade in case Dumbledore got tipped off. I got the bathroom down the hall there cleaned up and ready to use before I started cooking, so we've got a place to get cleaned up and ready."

"That's great, Harry. Thank you so much. Do you really think that the Headmaster will find out about it?" Tonks asked.

"I wouldn't put it past him. I've just figured it'd be best to be prepared for it." Harry replied.

After everyone was dressed and ready, they all apparated to Hogsmeade. They had decided to come in by the Shrieking Shack, since it was likely to be deserted.

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They brought out their brooms, and Harry led them out into the forest. Harry quickly found the cave Sirius stayed in two years ago, and from there tracked down the outer entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. They lost the light just before the cave opened up and the bottom dropped out of it. Andi looked over at Harry in the dim light cast by their wands and asked "Harry? Are you sure this is the right place? All I see is a whole lot of black."

"Well, since we're the only people in here, I should hope all you see is a whole lot of Black, Andi." Harry said with a grin. Everyone else groaned from the bad pun once they got it. "Yes. Fawkes brought us up and out of the Chamber of Secrets this way. Hang on a minute and I'll be right back. I need to make sure the way isn't blocked further down." With that, Harry dove quickly out of sight. For a time, all that the rest of them saw was his wand light as he dropped down the hole. It then disappeared for a small eternity before coming back into view.

"It seems to be just the way I left it. Complete with a thirty foot long skin the beast shed a long time ago. We'll still have to do a bit of work after we get down here to shore up the ceiling and clear out the mess Lockhart made when he blew himself into obliviation. I've grown a bit in the past four years. Tonks is probably the only one that can fit into that hole now. From there on, I can't tell. I don't recall that it was that far to the Chamber itself from there, though. Less than a mile, anyway." Harry reported to the others after he returned. "Some of the twists and turns on the cave here seem to be a lot tighter than I remember too. We should all fit, though. It's just a good thing that we won't be taking it too fast."

As they exited the cave, they returned to Hogsmeade. Harry stopped in at Gladrags and picked up a cloak that fit him and some off the rack black robes so that he wouldn't be too out of place in the wizarding community. If he showed up in just muggle clothes in the Three Broomsticks, he'd stick out like a sore thumb.

At 9:30, Remus showed up. He still wore his patched robes, but the clothing under it was looking better than his normal. The five of them ordered tea from Rosemerta, and at 9:45 Forrester and another wizard showed up.

Forrester brought over the stranger and introduced him. "Harry, Remus, Tonks, this is Edwin Rider. He works for Blackstone Potion ingredients. He wanted to see if he can reach an agreement with you about the disposition of your merchandise. I'm sorry, but I don't know your two friends."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Edwin. Good seeing you again, Forrester. This is Ted and Andromeda Tonks. Ted is my curse breaker, and Andromeda is my financial advisor. Edwin, she's the one you will have to convince, not me. She has a better idea of what things are worth than I do." Harry said. Hands were shaken all around the table.

"Actually Forrester; I will be needing two more of the sets of armor like you will be making for us for Ted and Andi. That means you get to deal with Andromeda as well. I brought enough brooms for us to get to where we are going, so whenever you people are ready, let's get to work." Harry said.

After the tea was finished, they headed back out to the cave, and ultimately the Chamber of Secrets. After a leisurely half hour flight, they came to the bottom of the entryway of the Chamber. They all dismounted and headed down the passageway. The group's eyes bugged out when they came across the skin that was still laying a short distance from the cave in.

While Harry, Tonks, Remus and Forrester began unblocking the cave, Ted pulled out a strange looking device. There was a high pitched noise, and soon thereafter a grinding sound. Ted walked around the cave in for a few minutes, and up to the top of the rock pile. The noises would start for a few moments, and then cease. Ten minutes later he was done, and came down to help the others unblock the entrance.

"What was that noise, Ted?" Harry asked.

"Hmm? Oh. Just a special little time saver that a curse breaking friend of mine from the States sent to me. They call it a Dremel. Huge time saver, and for detail work it's unbeatable after you get used to it." Ted replied. "The ceiling wouldn't collapse now unless we had an earthquake with an epicenter right where we're standing. Even then, it wouldn't happen unless it cracked that rune right over there," he said; pointing to a spot on the wall. With the five of them working together, they soon had the cave in cleared.

As they were finishing up, Andi and Edwin walked back. As their conversation came into focus, Harry could tell they were arguing over the price of the old skin.

"-And I told you. At any apothecary in the country, Basilisk skin is sold at a sickle per grain. That means you sell it to them at about half that. We simply cannot accept less than a sickle per three grain weight." Andi was saying.

"Okay. Let's split our difference. Sickle per four. It's my final offer on it." Edwin replied.

"Deal." Andi said as she made note of it in her notebook. Earlier they had weighed the skin and agreed that there was twenty six pounds in the main skin, and another pound and a half in smaller pieces scattered. Andi did a few calculations while following Harry and said "Okay. So we are agreed. Twenty seven and a half pounds, that comes to 14,808 galleons for the skin back there. On our way out, you can collect it. Is this correct?"

Edwin, who was also jotting down figures looked over at his counterpart signaled his confirmation of her calculations with a nod and a "Correct."

When the group got to the doorway to the Chamber, they were amazed at the intricate carving on the doorway. They were even more started when Harry hissed "open" in Parseltongue, the snakes unlocked, and the door opened into space with a flat floor and high ceiling. "Harry. I didn't know that you were a Parselmouth." Andi looked at him nervously.

"Don't worry. I'm not some all powerful dark lord in the making," Harry replied bleakly. "I got that as a gift at the same time I got the bloody scar."

Tonks walked over to him and hugged him when she saw the look in his eyes. "It's okay Harry. We know you aren't a dark lord. You're too nice and honest to be one, even if you do have reason to turn into one after all you've been through" She whispered into his ear.

"Thanks, Tonks. I appreciate the hug."

Tonks gave him a quick peck on the lips and separated from him. The group continued into the Chamber, and came into view of the carcass of the monster. They all stopped and looked at Harry. Forrester looked over at Harry and said "Sweet Merlin, Harry! You killed this bastard?"

"Yes. I didn't really have a choice in the matter. I just wanted to get me and the other student out of here alive." Harry replied.

"And just how old were you, then, Harry?" Ted asked.

"Twelve. It was the end of second year."

The entire group was stunned. Edwin recovered first. "What? You mean you killed this great bloody beastie as a second year?"

Harry just shrugged and said "Like I said. I didn't have much choice. Shall we get on it?"

The group slowly approached the monster. Forrester and Edwin began an intense inspection of it. At the end of the inspection, Forrester used a magical blade and a huge sledgehammer to place a hole in the skin at the bottom of the beast. He removed the blade and placed a five gallon bucket under the slow flowing wound.

He walked to the tail end of the monstrous snake and looked up. He conjured a hook, block and tackle, and a chain. Looking at the ground, he cut a hole out of the floor and then passed the chain under it. He hooked the chain back to the block and tackle and slowly began lifting the tail. The blood flow into the bucket increased. As the bucket filled, he replaced it with a second.

While this was going on, Andi and Edwin were bargaining on the organs, blood, venom and fangs.

Ted, Tonks, Remus and Harry performed a closer inspection of the rest of the Chamber. Ted found no destructive wards in place, but did find evidence of hidden passageways. Careful searching of the passageways revealed a small library, filled with parchment and extremely old books in one room, a loo, a tiny kitchen and a small room with a cot. Following the passageway up and around, Harry walked out and saw an opening. A closer inspection showed that he was at the mouth of the statue of Slytherin he had seen the Basilisk come out of when called. Looking out from up there, Harry reflected that Salazar had one hell of an ego problem. Who else would have a sixty foot tall statue of his own face in his hidden sanctuary. On the way back, Harry helped the others empty the library. Some of the scrolls and books were illegible to everyone except Harry. He concluded that it must be in Parseltongue. The others all requested that he translate the information for them, and Harry agreed.

As they departed the chambers, Andi and Edwin apparently had reached an agreement, as Edwin was starting to very carefully remove the fangs from the carcass. Andi approached the other four and said "Well Harry, we ended up with just over one point four million galleons coming to us from Blackstone, not counting the blood. So far we are up to sixty gallons and Forrester thinks it will come up to just over one hundred gallons. We've an agreement in place for seventy galleons a gallon. That will put us up close to one and a half million."

"Excellent. That means we should at least break even with Forrester for the two new sets of armor." Harry said.

"No, Harry. I've already taken that into account. It was net income that I was talking about." Andi said.

Harry smiled and said "See? You're already making me money. I would have been thrilled to just get the two extra sets of armor and have done with it. Oh, yeah. Does that include the bones?"

Ted spoke up at that point. "No, We can get more for that by selling it off to the curse breakers. After, that is, we use our share on the wards on your estates. I have some really neat toys in mind for those. It would have made the Egyptians jealous."

Seeing Remus' look of confusion, they quickly brought him up to speed on the increases in the size of the Black family, and the Tonks' new jobs. Harry then asked Remus to be his bodyguard and to teach him.

"Harry, you don't have to pay me. I now have more money than I know what to do with." Remus said.

"I know that I don't HAVE to pay you. I want to. You're one of my best friends, and if you are going to be putting your life on the line with me, you need to get paid. As I told them, I will pay for the best, and they will give me the best." Harry said.

"Of course, then he had to haul out the big guns of being our patriarch to finally convince us." Tonks smarted off.

"Hush, Tonks. Don't make me get patriarchal on your arse!" Harry said.

"Oh, please, patriarch! Thank you sir, may I have another!" Tonks replied.

Harry blushed a deep red and just shook his head. "The things I have to put up with. Cheek from my own family." He said morosely.

A thought occurred to Harry. "Ted, can you set up wards to only allow members of the Black Family through?"

Ted thought about that for a minute. "Hmm. It might be possible to set up a blood recognition ward. Since you actually have very little Black blood in you, it would probably be easier to set up something that will recognize a token that has your blood on it to allow entry. Something like a small recognition rune and a drop of your blood on it will allow the user to pass the wards, but if anyone else tries it, they trip the wards and the fun stuff starts. What do you think of that?"

"That sounds pretty good. And this 'fun stuff.' What were you thinking?" Harry asked.

"Oh, I have a few tricks up my sleeve. I have a couple of plans set up for something like an ambush that is a set of three wards. Two of them are up full time and look fairly innocuous, but if one of those gets disrupted by a breaker, it trips the third one and that's when the real fireworks start. I like to set those up when I think someone is likely to try to get at the client. If a thief takes a look at it, the third set doesn't even register until the trap is sprung, and by then it's too late. With those bones in that beast, I can set up some stuff that will make it a real bastard to overload."

While they were talking, Edwin pulled out the last of the five gallon buckets of the blood and covered it. Forrester created a new block and tackle set and chain at the head of the Basilisk. Once again, he gouged a divot in the floor to pass the chain under, and hooked up the chain once again. After lifting, He walked over to the group and requested their help. All of the group was needed to cast cutting hexes to expand the hole Forrester had created earlier. In this manner, with Forrester spotting where the curses need to be used, they cut a line around the Basilisk's head. Forrester dropped the back end of the carcass, and hooked the chain from it to the hide just behind the other chain. He looked back to the group and said "This is going to be pretty disgusting, but it's the easiest way to do this. You might want to find something to hold your attention elsewhere while this is going on."

The group decided to see what he was talking about. As he tightened the back chain hoist, the skin began to peel away from the muscle tissue and cartilage They quickly decided that the scrolls and books would be a good thing to keep their interest while this was going on. Harry discovered that Salazar was not only an egotistical git, he was a paranoid egotistical git. Several of the books appeared to be his journals, and were written in Parseltongue. Most if it was quite boring, but there were a few interesting entries.

While Harry was deciphering the fact that Slytherin was thinking that not only Rowena but Helga was after his body as well, Ted came up to Remus and him and asked for their assistance removing the backbone and ribs from the monster. The hide was not completely off of the beast, but there was enough for them to get started on the messy job of deboning the corpse. This was quite a bit of work, and by the end, Harry was exhausted, dirty, and bloody. Several cleaning spells later, and he was just exhausted.

Finally, the work was completed, and the bones were stored in a trunk Ted had brought for the purpose.

Forrester handed over the three sets of armor and robes to Harry, and thanked him profusely. He reiterated that the new armor would be ready for him in three weeks. He then walked over to Andi and Ted, and let his tape measure do it's uncomfortable playing with the couple.

After the five were alone, Harry spoke with Remus about the Bellatrix problem. Remus agreed that there was chance that it was a trap, but it could also just as likely be a real chance to strip Voldemort of one of his best Death Eaters.

Harry invited Remus back to Edinburgh with the rest of them. Remus agreed to see the house, but would head back home afterwards and come back in the morning.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

That afternoon, the entire crew explored Tonks' new house. There ended up being seven bedrooms, three bathrooms, the kitchen, dining room, sun room, a small library, family room, living room, two small rooms Tonks declared were to be dens, and a large ballroom. The basement was completely open, other than support columns.

There was a large yard in the back, with two small sheds. The yard also had a small flower garden, which was looking quite pathetic as no one had done anything with it in over twenty years. The only way that Harry could tell that it had been a flower garden was the fact that it was blocked in by landscaping ties and there were a few desperately struggling flowers still trying to bloom in it. One of the sheds contained seeds, pest and weed repellents, and pottery. The other shed contained hedge trimmers, shovels, an aerator, and an ancient looking lawn mower.

They all cleaned up and went out to eat. Remembering his and Remus' previous conversation about who would buy, Harry insisted on picking up the tab.

After they returned, they all sat down and worked out a teaching schedule for Harry. He had already decided that he was not going to return to Hogwarts. The first problem with the place was the Headmaster, the second was the fact that he had almost been killed half a dozen times at the "safest place in the Wizarding World," and the third was that he needed more specialized training than the curriculum at the school would allow. The subjects that he was most concerned with were defensive magic, occlumency, finance and business management, social etiquette, law, and politics. His defensive magic was what he figured would be anything that could keep him alive. This included dueling, runes, offensive and defensive spells, and anything else his teachers could throw at him.

After the teaching conference had been finished, Remus flooed home, agreeing to come back the next day to start his part of Harry's training at ten. Andi and Ted also went home, citing that they needed to take care of some business in the morning, but would be back tomorrow afternoon to try to contact Ian.

Harry and Tonks sat together in the kitchen after everyone had left, and talked. Harry was anxious to get to know her and to know what it was like to grow up in the wizarding world, and Tonks was more than happy to answer his questions with anecdotes from her past.

After a time, Tonks said that her back was starting to hurt her from the strains of the day, and went up for a hot bath.

Having nothing else to do, Harry took out the notebook and checked to see if Tom Riddle was about to give him his 'recent history lesson', whatever that was.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

_Good evening Tom._

**Ah. Hello Harry. Do you have a few minutes? I would like to tell you a few things.**

_Sure._

**Before we start, I have a question for you. Who killed Octavius Grindlewald?**

_Dumbledore. Everybody knows that._

**Ah, everybody THINKS that. Here is the true story.**

**It seems that in the early to mid part of the second decade of the century, there was an Austrian Dark Lord by the name of Franz Ferdinand who was killed by a Bosnian-Serbian student that was going to Hogwarts. His name at that time was Gavrilo Princip. The Dark Lord was a hereditary Archduke for Austria-Hungary. This started World War I.**

**After the assassination of the Austrian, Prinicip disappeared, never to be heard from again. About fifteen years later, a virtual unknown using the muggle name of Heinrich Himmler came onto the scene, and quickly rose in the ranks of the Third Reich of Hitler's Germany. This happened despite the fact that the man had the racial looks of a Serb, as opposed to a German. In point of fact, he looked much like an older version of Gavrilo Princip. As he rose to power, in the wizarding world, he began calling himself Octavius Grindlewald. According to most history, and the chocolate frog cards; in 1945, Dumbledore defeated the Dark Lord Grindlewald. Albus will never speak about exactly HOW he did so. He cites that it is a long story, or a painful one that he would rather not relive, or some such nonsense when asked about it.**

**In point of fact, Dumbledore MAY be considered to have defeated Octavius. That is, if you consider that he created a weapon, pointed it at Octavius, engaged it, and stepped back to watch the explosions. I was that weapon. I killed Octavius.**

_You have got to be kidding. How did you do it?_

**It seems that Octavius had a thing for young men. Albus knew this, because he had taught Princip. Octavius was, in the current terms, a "top." He liked to use these young men to satisfy his urges. Usually, this included tying them into very uncomfortable positions while inflicting torture to their genitalia, and then sodomizing them. At times, he would have multiple people sodomize his victim for his pleasure.**

**As we have already discussed, I had a rough time of it growing up in the orphanage, similar to your stay with your relatives. While you were abused mentally and physically, I was also abused sexually from the time I was six years old.**

**I too went through a series of tests while I was at Hogwarts, similar to the tests you have performed so admirably in. People trying to kill me every year, shoddy teaching in certain subjects, and unfair singling out for punishment by the teachers.**

**In 1945, Albus took me to a castle in Bavaria, and told me to go in. For weeks I was Octavius' favorite play toy. One day, Fawkes showed up. He dropped off my wand. The next time Octavius came in, I killed him while he was raping my arse. It was my first intentional killing.**

_Wait a minute. What about Moaning Myrtle?_

**Oh, the Frisbee girl? That was a complete accident. I had been late for an appointment with Headmaster Dippett at the time and forgot to close the entrance to the Chamber. The Chamber was the only place I could go to get away from Dumbledore's spies. The basilisk decided it wanted to talk to me, and so it came to find me. Unfortunately, it found Myrtle first. When it saw Myrtle, it panicked and fled back down to the chamber.**

_So what happened to you after you killed Grindlewald? You disappeared until the late sixties._

**Well, after I killed him, I took his clothing, and Fawkes reappeared. I took hold of one of his tail feathers, and he brought me back to Albus. He then obliviated me, stunned me, took my wand, and put me into a muggle mental institution. I was drugged into a coma of which I did not come out of for the first two years. **

**In 1947, mental health facilities were almost as bad as Azkaban is now. In some ways, for me it was worse. I had huge gaps in my memories, and had lost two years of my life. My muscles had atrophied to the point that I was almost bedridden. It took me years to get back any kind of muscle mass, just to be able to move about all day without becoming exhausted. During that time, I was submitted to what they called 'Electro Shock Therapy' and, for some reason, radiation therapy. This was a new field, and basically involved me sitting in a room that had ground up uranium on the floor at just short of a critical mass. **

**The electro shock therapy did have the benefit of weakening Albus' meddling with my memories. I started to regain them. Slowly at first, as nightmares. Then, slowly it all started coming back. As it came back, I began to plan. In 1951, I escaped, and swore that I would pay back everyone that was connected with my humiliation and injuries. I also swore that Albus Dumbledore would not be allowed to do what he did to me to someone else. I knew I would have rather died at birth than to be subjected to what Dumbledore did to me. From then on, I trained. I knew that Albus would be looking for me, so I was constantly moving. I befriended people in Albania and Egypt. Mongolia and India. The Amazonian jungle and the white wastelands of Siberia. I learned from them all. But the first lesson I learned, and the most important, was from Albus Dumbledore. From him, I learned to HATE.**

**As Tom was writing, and Harry reading, they both felt the pain in their connection growing. By the time he written to this point, the pain was nearing unbearable for both of them.**

**I'm sorry Harry. I think that we should finish this session now, and work on reinforcing our shields. I did not think it would still effect me in such a manner. If you wish to continue this line of conversation at a later time, please let me know.**

_Thanks Tom. I think you're right. You've given me a lot to think about, and a blinding headache as well. Take a potion and a go to bed. That's what I'm going to do. Good night._

**Good night to you, as well Harry.**

With that, they both closed the notebook, and took a headache potion.

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A/N: All rights to Dr. Adam Sinclair, Noel MacLeod, and Ethan Peregrine are owned by Kathryn Kurtz, Mercedes Lackey, and their publishers. I am just borrowing them for a minor bit part. If you haven't read the Adept series from them, I highly recommend it.


	16. Dr Adam Sinclair, PsychHuntsMaster

Notice: Harry Potter, Tom Riddle, and any other characters you may recognize in this story are the property of JKR and/or whoever had the brains, contacts, and cash (or other negotiable items) to secure the rights to them. Alas, I had the brains, just none of the other stuff.

Sir Adam Sinclair, Psychiatrist & Huntsmaster

The next morning, Harry once again awoke at his usual 5:00 AM. He was once again shocked to find a young lady spooned up against his back, but at least it was no more than a quick jerk before realizing the identity of his bed partner.

It appeared that after Harry had dozed off, Tonks had come in sometime in the night and curled up behind him. There was no towel on the floor, so it couldn't have been immediately after her bath, and she was dressed (If that was the word for it) in a cropped T-shirt top that rode up to just below her breasts and a thong, with the covers kicked down to the foot of the bed. This caused Harry to see quite a bit more of Tonks than he had ever thought possible without getting his eyes hexed off. This had the normal effect it would have on any teenager, and once again the blood was warring on which direction to go. His nether regions prevailed, and Harry quickly got up to get a cold shower before it became a problem that would haunt him all day.

Harry came back from the shower covered only in goose bumps and a towel to get his clothes for the day. As he was bending down to get his boxers from the bottom shelf of the dresser, his towel slipped off. Suddenly, Harry heard a whistle of appreciation from behind him. Harry jerked straight up, slamming his head into the underside of the dresser top.

Dropping the towel and boxers he had been attempting to grab when all this occurred, Harry brought both hands up to his now lacerated cranium. His knees buckled, bringing his chin and nose into harsh contact with said dresser top. Harry slid bonelessly to the floor, stunned.

"Oh Merlin! Harry, honey, I'm soooo sorry! Are you okay? Where are you hurt?" Tonks was off the bed and at his side in a flash, leaning over him to inspect the damage her whistle had caused.

Harry groaned, rolled over onto his back and looked up. He was expecting to see Tonks' concerned face looking down at him. Unfortunately, (or fortunately, for Harry) she had reached up onto the dresser to get her wand. What Harry actually saw was, to him; the underside of most perfect set of breasts, finely sculpted abs, and a very small bit of fabric covering a crotch that he had ever -in his admittedly very limited experience- seen. He was mortified to find that the first words out of his mouth was not the 'I'm fine' that he had originally intended to say. The only thing that had come out instead was "Wow." Harry now proved it was possible to blush with your entire body.

Tonks, having acquired her wand now, looked down at her patient. Seeing his eyes bugging out and staring under her shirt, she quickly leaned back on her knees and took a look at her now entirely red patient. Trying to be as professional as she could, she looked at Harry, grinned and said "Later. Let's get you fixed up first, and then we need to have a long talk before Mum, Dad and Remus get here." Several Episkey charms, a headache potion, and a wet washcloth later, Tonks ushered him into the bathroom and turned the shower back on.

"Um, Tonks, what are you doing?" Harry asked.

"You need to get that blood out of your hair before it dries, Harry. Since the wound is healed, a shower would be the best way about it." Saying that, Tonks stripped off her T-shirt and thong, and gently guided Harry into the shower. She stepped to the back, and turned Harry to face her. Gently guiding the dumbstruck boy backwards into the running water, she began to gently run her fingers through his hair. As she did so, her nipples came into contact with his chest.

"Uh, not to sound like a broken record or anything, but what are you doing?" Harry realized that his cold shower earlier had just been completely and thoroughly negated.

"Well, my healing charms aren't that great, and they wouldn't handle a concussion. I'm just checking to make sure that you really are okay. Besides, it's not everyday I get to have a shower with a really cute guy that obviously appreciates my assets." Tonks said with a leer as she grabbed the shampoo.

"Uh... But, Tonks. But... Um.. But your naked. And, uh... And I'm naked! And I can't... I mean I haven't... uh." Harry looked at her helplessly.

Tonks smiled and kissed him lightly on the nose and gently said "It's okay, Harry. Relax. I'm naked because I don't want my clothes soaked. Besides, since I already got to see all of you, I figured it was only fair for you to see all of me. I know all about what happens when a guy sees a girl naked, and I'm glad that you had that reaction to it. I'd have been really worried about the family line if you hadn't." While saying this, she gently scrubbed the shampoo into his hair.

"Well, you don't have to worry about that. I'm definitely straight. But what I mean is, I am fully capable of washing my own hair. So why are you in here?" Harry realized that this was far, far beyond the one "wet" kiss from Cho six months before. He had no clue as to why this stunningly beautiful woman would want to have anything to do with him, or what he was supposed to do now that he had her in the shower.

"I told you. I'm checking for a concussion. Also, it saves water, and besides... It's fun! I wash you, and then you can wash me." Tonks grinned while rinsing the shampoo out.

Harry got a wild look in his eye and bolted out of the shower and back to his room, skipping drying off, and the towel.

Harry was still trying to get a resisting pair of boxers up past his knees as Tonks came into the room wrapped in a towel and handed him the one she was carrying.

He quickly wrapped it around his midsection and sat down on the bed, still trying to pull up his boxers.

Tonks reached out a hand and put it on his shoulder and swung him around to face her. He still had the wild look in his eye. "Harry, what's wrong?"

"I... I'm sorry, Tonks... I panicked. I just... I mean I never... I can't, okay?" Harry had a miserable look on his face.

This confused Tonks. "What do you mean? I'm sorry, Harry. I don't understand."

Taking a deep breath, Harry let it out in a huge sigh. "I'm sorry, Tonks. I don't think that I can give you what you want. It's not that I don't _want_ to, but I don't know what it is you're wanting from me." Harry was now staring down at his toes as if they were the most interesting thing in the room.

Comprehension came to Tonks in a rush. "Oh JEEZ! I'm sorry, Harry. I just thought that... I mean... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push you so hard. I just assumed..."

"You just assumed that you wouldn't have to deal with a complete idiot, right?"

"No! I just figured that you'd have managed to have gotten half the girls in Hogwarts into the broom closets by now!"

Another huge sigh. "No. Do you want to know my total experience with girls? Until today, I had one dance at the Yule Ball, and one kiss from a girl in the Room of Requirement this year."

"Room of Requirement? Hey, that's not bad. Beats the heck out of a cramped little broom closet with the smells and things poking you that aren't supposed to be and all. You've got style!" Tonks said, trying to cheer him up.

"It was made up as a defense training room at the time." Harry hung his head back down.

"Oh. So, how was it?"

"Wet. She was crying about her former boyfriend that I let get killed at the time." Harry said without looking up. The water that was hitting his toes now had nothing to do with the fact that he hadn't dried his hair.

"Oh baby," Tonks said, taking him into a hug. "I'm so sorry. Merlin! It must have seemed like I was trying to rape you in there. I just didn't know. I'll back off a bit and try not to push, okay?"

"So, does this mean that you want to be my girlfriend?"

Tonks laughed. "Of course, Silly! I'd hate to think of Daddy wasting his 'rip your testicles off' speech for nothing!"

Harry groaned at the reminder, but then perked up and said "Um, Do you think he can really do that, since I'm the head of his house?"

Tonks kissed him lightly again and said, "Actually, I don't think that matters too much to him. He _is_ a muggleborn, after all. But don't worry about him. I just won't tell if you don't. Besides, if he gave you _that_ speech, he already assumes you're my boyfriend."

"Okay. I do have a question for you, though. Why do you keep ending up in my bed?" Harry asked.

Tonks blushed a bit and said "Well, for one thing, the bed in my room is really trashed, and the other was that I kept hoping that you would take the hint and wake me up in a fun way. This was before I found out about all this, of course. I'll go back to my own bed from now on if you like."

"What? No! I mean... You can sleep wherever you like, Tonks. This is your house, after all." Harry said, blushing as well.

"Really? Cool! I do have one request, though. Can I pop back to the house and get my water bed? Nothing against your bed here, but I've gotten used to it, and it hurts my back to sleep on anything else now. Besides, there's still the silk ropes I want to try on you some time..." Tonks said with a grin.

The image now implanted in Harry's mind caused his blush to deepen further. "Uh... Bed, yes. The ropes might just be pushing it a bit right now... How about we hold off on those for a bit, okay?"

"Spoiled Sport." Tonks tried to pout but couldn't hold it. After it broke into a grin she continued. "Okay, but I'll hold you to those words when it's time. Got it?"

"Yes, dear. Tell you what. I'll put it on the calendar. Um... The 30th of February, next year. How about that?"

"Oh, no. I plan on those ropes being used to tie up a Christmas present for both of us." Tonks replied.

"Uh... How about 'we'll see' and let it go for now, okay?"

"Okay. I'll go get it while you're fixing breakfast." She hopped up and was about to apparate out when she looked down. "Um, maybe we should get dressed first."

"Ya Think?" Harry replied. "I dunno, if someone is watching your flat, that would certainly take them by surprise!"

Tonks laughed and threw a pillow at him. "Prat!"

"Well, if we're going to go with name calling, how about this... Eloise," Harry said with a smile.

All of the color drained from Tonks' face. "You knew about that? How? Nobody knew about that but the Director! Not even Dumbledor knew about it!"

"I always knew it was you. I can always tell who you are. Whether you're the little old lady going down the street with a big bum and a shawl, the slightly effeminate gentleman in the grocery store, several of the teen aged girls sunning themselves at the park, or Eloise Midgen of this past year. So what happened to her?" Harry replied.

"Wow, you just tagged all three of my favorites, and the one I was in the longest. How?"

"I dunno. I had them spotted as not right from the beginning. Then, when I 'officially' met you when you came to pick me up with Moody, I knew you were the same person somehow. Then Eloise had the same... I dunno, the same 'feel' to her, so I knew it was you. So what happened to the real Eloise?"

"Her parents put her in Beaubaton's. They believed the drivel that the Prophet was putting out about you being a nutter and didn't want her around you. Amelia wanted me in to keep an eye on Umbridge, so she had the Aurors foot the bill and slid me in instead. By the way, when Madam Delores gets out of St. Mungo's, she's headed for a long stay at Azkaban." Tonks said.

"Good. That's one thing I can mark off my list, then. I was afraid I was going to have to do something unpleasant to her." Harry replied flatly.

"Well, you will probably still be called up as a witness, especially about the blood quill, but even without you she'd be looking at ten years, minimum."

"Does that include the attempted Cruciatus she tried to tag me with?" Harry asked.

"Cruciatus? No, I didn't know about that. If you're willing to testify on it, that should be enough to put her away for life. I can still get in touch with Amelia to let her know if you want."

"I want. I want very much. There. Now that that's settled, let's get dressed and you go get your bed while I cook. Omelets or just eggs and sausage?"

"You have to ask, your Chef-Patriarchal-ness?"

"Merlin. I hope magic can do something for high cholesterol." Harry grinned.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

After breakfast, and Tonk's minor remake of the bedroom, the two settled down to less serious talk for a while. At 10:00, the doorbell rang; and Andi, Ted and Remus made their way in to the sitting room. All three of them had their arms full. Ted and Remus with books, Andi with ledgers, notebooks, parchment, an abacus, and muggle pens and pencils.

"What's all that stuff?" Harry asked.

Remus and Ted smiled and said "Your school books!"

"And your accounts. At least the ones from 1978 until 1979. I'm going to start from before Orion died and continue on from there. The numbers don't add up at current, and that was the last time anyone sane actually dealt with it. Walburga was not exactly in a fit state of mind after Orion passed on, and Sirius couldn't exactly hire someone to deal with it from Azkaban, so we have almost twenty years of tracing back to deal with. At least on the Potter side it's only going to be fifteen years, and you'll be able to help me with that."

"Me? I don't know anything about that stuff!" a stunned Harry replied.

"Oh, I know. But you will. That's why we're doing the Black books first. I'll teach you the book keeping on them, as well as the whys and wherefores. Then, after you have an idea of how the shady side live, you get to see the relatively clean side of business on the Potter side." Andi smiled.

Ted laughed at the reaction of Harry, which was to plunk himself down in a chair and hold his head. "Andi, now that you seem to have overloaded our young lord's head with the sheer thought of all of the numbers, how about you let me and Remus take him for a bit to start mapping the wards on this place? We'll keep him occupied until it's time to get cleaned up." Turning to Harry, Ted continued. "By the way, we have a meeting with Noel MacLeod at 12:30, boss. Hope you don't mind, but I told him you'd spring for lunch."

Hope returned to Harry's eyes as Andi also broke into a laugh and agreed to the plan. Away from the numbers? YES! "Okay, while you MEN are doing that, we ladies are going to do what we do best. Shopping! Harry, honey. I need hmmm... probably 2500 pounds should cover it. We need to get you a decent computer here. It won't tell us exactly what's wrong, but it will be useful to spot things that look out of place when we are putting the information into it."

As Harry was digging out his Gringotts' money bag, he said "Computers? Will they work here? I thought they didn't like magic."

Ted took this one. "Yes, Harry. I can get them to work here. All it takes is carving a few runes like the ones I have on my Dremel onto what they call an uninterruptable power supply to shift the magic power over to the electrical power and keep it from being leached back out immediately." He turned to Andi and Tonks, and to Harry it seemed he began speaking gibberish. "Laser, dot, or ink? If laser, better go with at least a 2000VA, dot can get by on 1000VA, and ink probably 1200 to 1500VA. Just make sure that you get a good one with a metal case so I can carve the runes into the case."

Andi, apparently understanding it all, replied "I think ink. It's good quality, less expensive than the laser, not too slow, quiet, and some of the new ones even get four color. I'll probably hold out for a 1600 VA UPS, though."

Ted saw the look of complete confusion on the young man's face. "Harry, electricity is measured in Watts, also called at times VoltAmps. This measurement means Voltage times Amperage or; in layman's terms, 'How much' by 'How hard it's pushed.' The Uninterruptable Power Supply, or UPS for short is listed by the maximum number of VoltAmps it can handle. The magic can supply however much electricity we want, but it's of the wrong type. I can convert magic to direct current, like in a battery. The computer wants what's called alternating current, like what comes in from the power company to a muggle house. The UPS has a battery in it, and a converter that shifts it from one type of power to the other. For our purposes, the size of the battery isn't so important as the ability of the converter to handle the shift without blowing up on us. The Laser, dot and ink are types of printers. A lot of people don't realize that the computer doesn't draw that much power by itself, but when you print something, the printer draws a lot all by itself. Lasers use the most, then the ink jets, and lastly the dot matrix printers. Our UPS has to be able to convert enough power from DC to AC to handle those, instead of it's normal use of holding up the computer when the lights go out for the muggles. Got it?"

"I think so. You're going to be plugging everything electrical into that UPS and it's going to have to be able to handle the load without frying itself out, right?" Harry said.

"Bingo!" Ted agreed.

"But how come you can't make the AC current like it is for a house?" Harry asked.

Ted thought for a minute. "You see, 'AC' is alternating current. That means it shifts the positive and negative power poles between fifty and sixty times a second, and it has to be done consistently at just the right time. The controller runes for that would be a nightmare to figure out, much less the hassles I would have at testing them. I probably could do it, but it would be a lot of work to reinvent a wheel that the muggles have so graciously provided us with, now wouldn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess I never really thought about it like that." Harry blushed in embarrassment at what he thought was a stupid question.

"Now, none of that. Most people in the magical world wouldn't have been able to follow my explanation at all, and even most muggles don't really understand electricity. They just think that they flip on a switch and 'POOF!' it works. To everyone except the electronics people and the electricians, it's just as much magic as what we can do.

"Rule number one of the curse breakers. If you don't understand something, there's no such thing as a stupid question. A cascading ward failure is not the most forgiving teacher, and there are very few people still alive after one to learn from its lessons. It's right up there with giving a sleeping dragon snuff and standing in front of it to watch what happens.

"I fully expect you to be asking questions about anything you don't understand. If you still don't understand, keep asking until you do. I have some schemes that the Aztec priests would be grossed out by, and accidentally tripping one would not be pretty. Especially since I'd probably get kicked back out of the family if you bought the farm on me without having an heir yet." Ted finished up with a grin.

"Okay, Professor Ted. You may not realize just what you're getting yourself into, though." Harry said with a grin.

"Professor Ted?" Ted grimaced.

"Well, sorry about that, but I figured that if we were going to be friends, family, Family with a capital 'F', employer/employee AND have a teacher/student relationship, I should probably refer to you all differently if I am going to be in a subservient role. That way, you can teach me however harshly as necessary without any hard feelings spilling over on all of the rest of the relationships. When we are dueling, I can't take a shot at Tonks without holding back. Professor Tonks, on the other hand, should be all business and trying to put me on my arse while I'm trying to do the same to her. Not to mention, Andi. I'm rubbish at math and figures. I figure she'll have to beat me over the head with a few of those ledgers there. Now, specifically to 'Professor Ted' and 'Professor Andi', I can't very well have three different 'Professor Tonks'es', can I? Also, that means I get to call Remus Professor Lupin again without him getting mad at me." Harry grinned as the last sentence came out of his mouth.

"Dammit! Just when I thought I had him broke of that!" Remus growled, but his eyes were smiling.

Ted laughed and said "Okay. I give. That makes a lot of sense, so 'Professor Ted' it is. But remember, other than teaching time, I'm just Ted, Andi is just Andi, and Remus is Remus. I'll let you call Nymphadora whatever you can get away with."

"DADDY!" the offended witch shouted. "Stop that!"

"See Andi, I told you she would prefer Sally Jesse Raphael!" Ted said smugly.

A quartet chorus of "Eeeww!" greeted the comment.

"What? It's a perfectly good name!" Ted said in a huff.

"Okay, Daddy. You can call me Nymphadora if you want to." Tonks said glumly. "But don't you two even THINK about it!" she said to Harry and Remus.

"Okay, Magic to Muggle and back again has now been covered. Come along Nymphadora, darling. We get to go SHOPPING!" Andi said, taking Tonks by the arm and escorting her out of the house.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ted pulled out what looked like three sets of safety goggles. "Okay, I've always been rubbish at Mage Sight, and neither of you has said anything about it, so I grabbed three sets of goggles from the shop. Let's step to the property line before we put these on, otherwise you'll get a massive headache from looking at the wards from the inside."

"Um, what's Mage Sight?" Harry asked, putting the goggles around his neck.

Remus took this question. "Harry, everything has magic. Most things don't have much, but they all have some to contribute. Mage Sight is where you can actually see the magic. Usually it's from active wards, or charms on an object, things along those lines. But some people can be trained to actually see the magic in everything. Living or non, magical or muggle. I know Dumbledore claims he can. These goggles will sense the magic, and place it into various colors, depending on what it is. These, a curse breaker's bible, and a set of chisels are the main tools that they use. Everything else can be dealt with with those tools."

"What do you mean 'bible'? I didn't think it was a religion of some sort." Harry said, more confused than he was about the Mage Sight or the AC electricity.

Remus laughed, and said "No, they just call it a bible. It's 'Babcock's Field Guide to Runes, Tricks, and Traps.' Although sometimes it seems like they read it just as religiously as a priest does his Bible."

"About the best part of the bible is the fact that the last half of it is blank. It allows you to go through and put your own schemes in so that when you are warding a place, you can put in whatever nastiness that someone else came up with that you beat." Ted said.

Seeing that Harry looked confused, he continued. "Okay, suppose that I have warded a place with a setup that allows everyone but werewolves to come and go as they please, but as soon as a werewolf steps up to a certain point, it turns all of the grass to sharpened silver stakes."

Remus looked sick, but Ted continued. "Okay, now, say that you figure out how it works, and you come across a client later on that Fenrir is royally pissed off at. If you've gone through and put it in your bible, you just have to do the carving and set it up for the customer. Fenrir shows up and and is soon going 'Ag!'" Ted started laughing at his own pun as the other two groaned. (A/N: Just in case there's anyone out there that doesn't know, Ag is Silver's chemical symbol.)

"C'mon Remus! I've been waiting ever since I first met you to use that joke!" Ted laughed.

This finally brought a chuckle from the werewolf. "Okay. Let's get out there, 'Professor Ted.'"

"After you, 'Professor Lupin.'" Ted replied with a bow.

As they walked down the drive, Ted explained to Harry that there were two separate types of wards, permanent and temporary. The permanent ones were controlled by runes carved into some surface like stone, bone, or metal.

Temporary wards were created on the fly and powered by the warder's magic. He demonstrated a temporary ward by drawing the rune with his wand, and then drawing a line in the air between two points. It was lit by fire for a moment, and then gone. "Go ahead. Step through that line I just drew." Ted said.

Harry did so. There was a flare of light and it felt as if he had been hit by a tickling jinx. He performed the counter jinx while stifling a giggle while his professors looked amused. "That was a temporary ward." Ted stated, "If you had not walked through it, it would have gone away in a couple of hours. I didn't put much of my magic behind it. That particular one I could have had up for about a month. The nastier ones I could probably maintain for a couple of days before they gave out. Permanent wards are built to last for centuries."

As they reached the road, they turned around and Ted told everyone to look down at the ground and around the area. "This is the most logical place for the proximity wards to be set. They let the house know that there is a person coming, and if they are magical or muggle. Since this was a Black property from a long time back, they probably had it set to steer the muggles away from the property entirely, and knowing some of the history of the Blacks, to arm the first set of defenses. Do you see anything?" At the negative replies, he said "Okay. Put on the goggles and take a look. How about now?"

Harry looked, and saw a bright white line at his feet. He pointed and said "There."

"Yes, Harry. That's what your proximity ward looks like. Would you like to try to see if you have any talent at Mage Sight?"

"Sure. What do I do?"

"First, do you know how to clear your mind? Just think of one thing that makes you calm. Think of that to the exclusion of all else. Any other thoughts can just get lost while you are thinking of that object. Usually I use the image of a flickering candle. Now, after you get all of the other thoughts out of your head, erase the candle. Once it's gone, open your eyes slowly and look down again. What do you see?"

It took a few minutes for Harry to clear his mind, but it was much faster than when he had first attempted it days ago. As he opened his eyes, he saw a line. It wasn't very clearly defined, nor was it white. It was more of a bluish green. When he informed Ted of this, his professor seemed pleased. "Excellent, Harry! The blue-green you are seeing is because it's not being filtered by the goggle's magic. I'll see if we can pick you up some books to read up on and maybe even get you another tutor. Mage Sight is a very powerful tool. It allows you to handle all sorts of magic that goggles or glasses can't. After you get more experienced, you can even manage to strip off some of the magic for your own uses, like sapping the power wards and turning it back against itself, for a curse breaker's example, or even to make your own spells more powerful. Now, let's follow this line to where the rune stones are."

As Ted was talking, the line vanished. "It's gone." Harry replied glumly.

"That's okay. Like I said, it's going to take a lot of practice to be able to concentrate and handle the sight and other tasks. It's probably going to be a good idea to stock up on headache potions for when you are doing your practices as well, until you get used to it. For now just put the goggles back on and we can follow it out that way."

Harry spent the next hour carefully copying down various runes, and taking notes as to the exact placement. He also learned that there were three basic types of runes. Power, controller, and 'action' runes. The power runes were what was used to power a permanent ward. The controllers were used to determine if an action were necessary, and if so, where the power was to go. The 'action' runes were the most varied of the lot. They were what was to happen to the unlucky person the controllers decided had met the criteria. The action could be anything from a mild compulsion to leave and do something else, to many varied and horrid types of death. He even found a setup that would allow a door to door salesman to first wish to leave, then really want to run away, and finally suffer a brain aneurysm and stoke if he hit the ward the third time. Upon this discovery, Ted quickly copied it down into his bible, muttering something about something 'witless.' Harry didn't really understand what he was talking about but wrote it in his new copy of the Field Manual as well.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

As the ladies came walking up the drive from shopping, Ted called a break to get cleaned up and changed to go to the diner to meet Noel.

After the group apparated to an alley behind the diner, Harry said "I gotta get one of you to teach me that soon."

Remus laughed and said "That's on the agenda for our first lesson time tomorrow morning, Harry. We'll go over the theory in the morning, and have you practicing on it until noon. Just don't expect miracles. It usually takes time before you manage to apparate the first time without splinching. Tomorrow afternoon we're going to be starting on the Transfiguration year six book."

"Okay. That's good. When do I start with you, Andi?"

"Tomorrow evening after supper. It's going to take me until then to get the computer set up and get the software installed. First thing we will do is to sort all the junk we got from Orion's records. After it's properly sorted, then we can get the information into the computer. Contrary to most people's belief, computers DON'T save time. They just get the information into a better form after it's in. The getting it in is the hard part."

"So, Tonks, I guess it's you and me this afternoon?"

"Well, you, me and Remus. We're going to be dueling and critiquing how you do, and then getting into the physical exercise. Oh, we need to get a hot tub for the exercise room. It'll help a lot with the aches and pains from the exertions. I'll take care of that after our lunch date here and meet you and Remus back at the house. I think one of the new soft sides will work best for us, and I know the spells to fill it, heat it, and force the jets to work."

As they reached the door, Harry said "Sounds good. Ladies first," as he opened the door and ushered the motley crew in. Ted paused in the entrance until he saw an old, very muddy and well used Toyota Land Cruiser with 'Borders and Lothian Police' barely readable on the side.

Without a word, Ted gestured for the rest of the group to wait while he approached a bear of a man at a large table. Ted walked up to the man and clasped his hand in both of his while greeting him. The grip looked strange to Harry, and Harry thought he caught the words 'widow's son' and 'orphan' while Ted was speaking to the man. As the man was facing the entryway, Harry saw a look of concern flicker across the large man's bearing before it was again replaced with a large smile.

Ted waved them over, and introductions were made. Harry grinned as they shook hands. Noel's handshake with Harry had a normal grip to it, as opposed to whatever had passed between Ted and Noel. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lord Black. I'm Noel MacLeod, a detective with Lothian and Borders." Harry saw and _felt _the ring on MacLeod's right hand. It had a blue stone and it seemed to pulse strangely as his hand was grasped. Later, after Harry had time to review the encounter in his mind, he decided he liked the feeling. It was comforting, almost like an embrace from a loved one.

"It's nice to meet you as well, Detective MacLeod. Please, call me Harry. I still think of 'Lord Black' as a bunch of guys that has screwed up the family name almost to the point of being beyond repair." Harry replied.

"Alright, Harry. Then it's just Noel for me. Forgive me for asking but isn't that just little harsh to be talking about your forefathers that way?" Noel asked.

"Oh, it wasn't really my forefathers that were the previous Lord Blacks. Without getting into too much detail, my godfather -who was innocent- was put in prison without a trial before his father died. I was unknowingly adopted by Sirius when he was made my godfather. HIS father and the ones before him were the Lord Blacks I was referring to. It's a bit confusing, but I just stumbled into it because there were no other male heirs in the Black family and I ended up with it. In his will, Sirius told me to bring the Black family back to respectability, so that's what I'm trying to do. That's how I met up with Ted and Andi here." Harry explained.

"Well, that and the fact that he's my daughter's boyfriend." Ted said with a grin.

"Hey! That just officially happened this morning!" Harry blurted out.

Harry didn't notice the strange look that crossed Remus' face for a moment. Before anyone could notice, his smile had returned. He had decided in his head that he was just a big brother for Tonks, but now his heart accepted it as well. He knew he could move on to a new relationship now.

"Well, I wish you luck in your endeavour. Now, what can I do to help you?" Noel asked.

"Actually, that's going to be more of the complicated stuff. Let's order and I can give you the short story. The long story is going to require a bit more time than we have just for lunch." Ted answered.

"Works for me. I don't have anything going on for another couple of hours unless I get a call out for an emergency." Noel replied.

They ordered, and Ted began his conversation with Noel. "Okay, the short story is that we need an introduction to your friend Dr. Sinclair. We have a rather interesting case for him, and I wouldn't trust anyone else with this case. It involves a member of the Black family, so it becomes a matter of honor for Harry, here. I'm also going to have to ask you to keep this off the official records of your job for right now, Noel. I know it's a lot to ask, but there are more reasons than you can dream of for it. We aren't doing anything illegal right now, and hope not to, but the person we need the doctor's help with might have. We just don't know how the law is going to come down on it."

"I don't know, I can dream a lot, but we'll see. I can't promise anything about that until after I know more. Let me call Adam and see what his schedule is like for this evening. I have to admit that I'm pretty curious, now."

A quick cell phone call later and a meeting with Dr. Adam Sinclair was set for 5:00 pm that evening back at the same diner.

With the hard part of the conversation out of the way, they passed the lunch hour with small talk. Noel went back to work, while the crew returned to their work as well.

Harry and Remus practiced dueling for half an hour, and then sat down at a table to discuss it. Remus won the duel, but Harry was confused as to what was so important about the post duel debriefing. Remus tried to explain to him why it was important. "Harry, for your age you are probably one of the best there is in a duel. But, there is always room for improvement. The debriefs are how you do that. It forces you to think about what spell you cast, when, and what it's effect was. It also makes you think about what your actions were, and how effective it was. If you shielded a spell, when it may have been faster and easier to take it and cancel it, or to try to move out of the way of it while sending your own offensive spell back."

After saying this, Remus pulled out a miniature penseive and restored it to it's regular size. "I believe you are familiar with one of these, yes?" Remus asked with a grin.

"Yes, I think so. I don't know how to pull memories out, though. I've just sort of fell into other people's memories before." Harry replied.

Remus explained the spell used and the way to bring out the specific memories they were needing. The first attempt Harry made was the wrong memory. It was from that morning's head ache producing bounce around in the bedroom.

Harry was mortified, but Remus just laughed it off. "Just think cub, now I've got blackmail material on The Black!" With a groan, Harry knew he would later pay for his mistake.

Harry's second attempt was much more successful. He got the correct memory, and they spent the next two hours stepping through the memory, pausing at significant events while Remus asked questions and made suggestions for improvements. Harry took careful notes, and resolved to do better in his future duels with the werewolf.

After the debriefing, Remus and Harry set off for the exercise room. Remus showed Harry the correct postures for the exercises, and spotted him has necessary for the next half hour. They had to cut the session short to get ready for the evening meeting with Dr. Sinclair. As they finished, Tonks showed them the four person soft side hot tub she had picked up, and how she had charmed it to work. Having no time to try it out, they settled for showers to get the grim and sweat off and left to meet with the doctor.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Coming out of the alley, they noticed a new, but equally muddy white Range Rover next to Noel's Toyota.

They were ushered back to the same table as earlier, and were soon introduced to Dr. Adam Sinclair, Phsychiatrist. The man was small compared to Noel, but at six feet tall, and fifteen stone, the blond gentleman conveyed a confident presence that Harry could only wish for. While shaking his hand, Harry noticed that Adam had the same kind of ring as Noel, and the feeling of a comforting presence was even stronger.

After getting on a first name basis with everyone, Harry explained that the entire situation was too complicated and delicate to discuss in public. Adam and Noel agreed to return to Tonks' residence with them to discuss the matter in private. The dinner was taken up with pleasant small talk, and getting to know each other.

As they exited the diner, Noel asked where their vehicle was, and the pair would follow them to their home.

"Um, yeah. Well, Noel... We didn't come in a vehicle. Nor did we walk. We're... witches and wizards." Ted managed to stutter out.

Adam and Noel's eyebrows shot up Their scepticism was obvious.

Harry tried. "It's true. We apparated here directly from the house. It's a way of going from one place to the other instantly. There's other stuff we can do to prove it if you like."

At that moment, there were several -pops- and over a dozen people in black cloaks wearing white masks were standing in the parking lot.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A/N: All rights to Dr. Adam Sinclair, Noel MacLeod, and Ethan Peregrine are owned by Kathryn Kurtz, Mercedes Lackey, and their publishers. I am just borrowing them for a minor bit part. If you haven't read the Adept series from them, I highly recommend it.

A/N2: sorry for taking so long to get this out. Real life kept intruding on me. I also figured out that I got MacLeod's and Peregrine's names wrong. I'm still not sure about Peregrine's, so I may have to do some adjustments later on. JaCee


	17. Explanations

Notice: Harry Potter, Tom Riddle, and any other characters you may recognize in this story are the property of JKR and/or whoever had the brains, contacts, and cash (or other negotiable items) to secure the rights to them. Alas, I had the brains, just none of the other stuff.

AN: Well, this is what I've managed. I am slowly starting to get to where I can deal with the headaches. I'll try to get back into updating this more often, but the larger chapters are going to mean that it doesn't get up as fast as they were earlier. Thanks everybody for understanding the time I had to take away from writing.

Explanations

As the Death Eaters started appearing, Harry got Adam and Noel down beside Adam's Range Rover. Already the spells were flying from the Deez towards the diner, locking it up tight. They were preparing to burn it to the ground, and if anyone managed to get out, a revelry would be in order.

Harry pulled out his wand, and threw himself into the fight, joining Remus and the Tonks'. From behind, the five of them stunned four in their first volley. Unfortunately, that still left them outnumbered by more than two to one, and the element of surprise was gone. Harry managed to petrify one more Death Eater before the rest sought cover behind the other cars in the parking lot. Harry dropped down by Adam and Noel, and saw that they had their heads bowed and were muttering in Latin. Other than spell work, Harry had no clue about the ancient language.

Putting it from his mind, he raised up again to try to get a shot at another one of the Deez. Not having a clear shot at anyone, he decided to see what could be done under the cars. Sure enough, there were legs and feet showing underneath the vehicles. With a shout of "REDUCTO" the orange light flew from his wand, impacting the knee of one of the Deez, causing him to scream and drop completely to the ground. Harry was already sighting in another person when suddenly Adam and Noel stood up.

As Harry was going after another Death Eater's leg, Noel opened up with his 9 mm, shattering the windows in the cars the Death Eaters were using for cover, and more screams were heard. Adam had a small knife in his hand, and was for some reason pointing it at Noel's Land Cruiser. Suddenly the front bumper and winch came off of the aged Land Cruiser and began flying towards the Death Eaters at a high rate of speed. The sounds of impacts of metal hitting flesh and bone was heard, as well as several startled voices.

A high pitch scream got Harry's attention. Looking over towards Remus and Tonks, he saw one of the Deez had caught Tonks with a Cruciatus curse. With a scream of "NOOOOO!", Harry scrambled to the bonnet of the car in between himself and Tonks, and launched himself between Tonks and the Death Eater holding the spell on her. Pain flared in every nerve ending, telling him that he had intercepted the curse. Slowly, his arm came up and aimed at the wand of the Death Eater.

"Diffendo!" Harry managed to shout as his strength gave out. The cutting curse flew true, snapping the Death Eater's wand. The tail end of the curse continued on, slicing deeply into the neck of the unfortunate Deez. Blood spurted fifteen feet to the right as the carotid artery and jugular vein were severed. The Death Eater dropped to the ground, only to find that Death was not kind to those that supposedly ate it. Long blonde locks of hair falling free from under the mask were quickly stained red.

After a moment, no more spells were heard from the Death Eaters, just cursing in general. Adam looked at the others, and said "I think that about wraps it up." The rest of the party groaned with comprehension as they got a clear look at the remaining Deez. Adam had used the winch cable to secure the lot of them at a height of about three feet. Some of them were standing, but the most interesting ones had the cable wrapped around their necks, and tied tightly to each other. It made for a very uncomfortable group of people.

Ted and Remus quickly acquired the wands of the captured Deez, with Noel covering them with his 9 mm. While this was happening, still more -pops- occurred. Andromeda spun around, wand at the ready. Noel's aim shifted to the newcomers, while Harry and Tonks struggled to their feet.

The "newcomers" were Kingsley Shacklebolt, Hestia Jones, and a group of Aurors. Andromeda started to lower her wand, but Harry told her to hold up and keep them covered.

"Harry," Kingsley started. "You need come with -"

Swaying, Harry interrupted. "Excuse me. I don't NEED to do anything. You and your team need to process the Deez that we happen to have captured for you. After that, they can obliviate the people in the diner, and you all can leave. As for a statement, My friends and I were having a quiet dinner out, and just happened to be here when these yahoos showed up to torch the joint. We dealt with them, and then you showed up. During the scuffle, the git laying there in a pool of his own blood got nominated for a Darwin Award by hitting Nymphadora with a Cruciatus.

"If you need more of a statement from me, Madame Bones can contact me. If Dumbledore or anyone else shows up, I'll put the entire Order of the Phoenix on trial for the attempted kidnapping of a peer of the realm. Are we clear?"

"Harry, you really aren't safe. This alone should tell you that."

"Um, excuse me. Just how many Deez have you managed to kill or capture, either as a member of the Order or as an Auror?"

"Well, none, but -" Kingsley started.

"And let me see now, Add the fifteen to the eleven earlier this summer... I make it twenty six for me and my friends, right? Granted, at least a few of these assholes are probably the same ones that I've already dealt with before, given the fact that the Minister is a moron. This time for their own health I suggest you lock them up good and tight. I'm as tired of putting up with their crap as I am of Dumbledore's."

Shocked, Kingsley tried again. "Harry, Dumbledore only -"

"For the love of Merlin, what makes you think that I'm going to listen to you OR Dumbledore about MY safety? I've done more in the war against Voldemort by myself than you, Dumbledore, or the entire effing Ministry! And your dear high and mighty fucking headmaster's idea of my safety is to get my sorry ass beaten damn near to death EVERY FUCKING DAY! Now. Leave. ME. ALONE!" Harry shouted.

"Dumbledore said -" Kingsley tried once again.

"Dumbledore is NOT my guardian. I want NOTHING to do with that old bastard. Right this second, I couldn't tell you who I hate more. Voldemort, or Dumbledore. At least Voldemort admits to wanting me dead. He'll kill me and have done with it. That crazy old coot you follow so blindly seems to think that I should be tortured every day of my life until I have the good grace to die of it, and I'm sick of him and everything he's done to me. Now do your damned job Auror and leave me alone!"

Kingsley had to push it one last time. "Harry, -"

Harry blew up. "FUCK! That's it. Tell Amelia to expect a visit tomorrow morning. I'm going to deal with this shit once and for all! Now, are you going to deal with these guys, or do you just want me to save the taxpayers time, hassle and money and just off them right here and now?"

Tonks came up beside Harry. "Honey, you can't do that. Let's just back off and you relax a bit while we let the Aurors deal with them, and then we can go home and try to explain it all to Adam and Noel, and then talk to Amelia in the morning."

Harry took several deep breaths, and started to calm down. Pointedly ignoring the members of the Order, Harry looked at the other Aurors and said "You might need to take a couple of them to St. Mungo's before they bleed to death. I know a couple of them have holes in them, and a couple others are missing knees."

Harry looked to the rest of his group, and asked if everyone was okay. After determining that the worst injuries were Harry and Tonks having the shakes from the torture curse, Harry relaxed a bit.

As the Aurors were processing the scene, Adam and Noel were having a conversation. "But why did you have to use MY bumper?" Noel was saying.

"Well, for one thing, I knew who owned the vehicle, and for another, it gets even with you for letting the Lynx Lodge torch the Land Cruiser I was renting." Adam replied with a smirk.

"WHAT! But that wasn't my fault! All I was doing was driving the stupid thing! How was I to know that a great bloody lightning bolt was going to come out of a clear blue sky and hit it... THREE times?" Noel asked indignantly.

"Yes, I know. Believe me, I know. I'm still fighting with my insurance company on it, and that was six months ago." Adam replied.

"Um, Guys," Harry said "I hate to interrupt, but after they get these gits untied, we can put the bumper back on your car for you, Noel."

"What?" Adam asked, grinning. "And give this lout nothing to complain about?"

"Well, it was just an idea, Adam. I mean, I thought it would be the least we could do for him. I'd hate for him to get pulled over for not having a properly operating motor vehicle. Think of the shame he would have... Police detective's license revoked...It could probably make the Times on a slow news day." Harry replied, trying to hold in a laugh.

Noel glared at the two, and then shook his head and laughed. "Harry, while you're at it, there's some rips in the upholstery that you can take care of if you like."

After the customers of the diner had been obliviated, and Tonks and Remus fixed Noel's Land Cruiser (including the ripped seats), Ted handed two rune covered stones to Harry. "Harry, I need you to give these to Adam and Noel. That will allow them into the house without the wards going crazy. I can't do it because you're the Patriarch."

"Wait a minute. Your daughter owns the house, not me. Shouldn't she be the one giving these things to them?" Harry asked.

"Normally, she would. As a matter of fact, after we get the wards mapped out, I'll redirect them to her. Right this second, though, they are all pointing to you as the person that decides who comes and goes. I just haven't had time to get them reset. Some of these were set up three hundred years ago, and the Blacks were never one of the 'nicer' families about their wards. If I don't have it completely mapped, bad things could happen."

"What kind of 'bad things,' Ted?" Harry groaned.

"Um, well, I did notice that one of the wards was set up to turn a person's bones to acid and eat it's way out. Of course, it's booby trapped by one that will rip all the mandrakes out of the front yard." Ted replied.

"Wait a minute. We have mandrakes in the front yard?" Harry asked.

"Err, I assume so. I haven't seen any, but there's a lot of stuff that can be hidden in four foot high weeds."

With a sigh, Harry decided to drop it for now. "Okay. So I have to give these to Adam and Noel, right? Do I have to say anything or do anything else?"

"Oh, no. The fact that they are freely given to them by the person the wards are attuned to is good enough."

"So what's to stop someone from taking them from them? Wouldn't they be able to get through the wards then?"

"No, because then they wouldn't have been freely given to them by you. There's a difference between willing and unwilling, taken and given in magic. If someone took one of these from them, those bad things I was talking about would be the least of their problems." Ted replied.

Harry decided not to find out what the worst of the problems would be. After all, they had just eaten not too long ago, and he didn't want to lose it so quickly.

"Err... Adam, Noel, I need you to take these or bad things will happen when we get you to the house. Trust me, you don't want to know how bad. I don't even want to know how bad they are. It seems the people that left the house to Tonks were a tad bit paranoid and a whole lot vicious, but these will protect you until we get inside." Harry said as he held out the two rune covered tokens.

Adam and Noel took the proffered tokens, and after a cursory inspection, placed them in their pockets. "Now, how are we getting to wherever this house of your's is?" Noel asked.

"Well, the easiest way would probably be for us to apparate you there, and then bring you back when we were finished tonight. If you don't think you would be comfortable with those arrangements, we can give you the address and wait for you to arrive." Ted replied.

"Actually, I wouldn't mind going with you, but if we are going to be going to this place very often it would probably be easier later on if we knew the address and just drove ourselves," Adam broke in.

Harry snorted. "Probably you two would hate the feeling of being sucked through a rubber hose as much as I do. Given all the various ways that Wizards travel, I think I'll stick to my broom anytime I can."

"Broom?" Adam asked, "You guys really fly around on brooms?"

"Oh, yes. Harry here is probably one of the best in the country on a broom." Tonks answered.

Adam and Noel looked at each other, and then back to the rest of the group. "Okay, I think I'd like to see that some time, Harry. It sounds like fun. Maybe you can come out to the manor house and you can show me how to fly." Adam said with a grin.

"I think I'd like that, Adam." Harry replied.

Andromeda gave Adam and Noel the address, and told them that they would wait for them at the property boundaries just in case Ted had missed a rune on his token. After checking that no one else was around, Ted, Andromeda, Tonks, Remus and Harry disappeared with a series of -pops-.

"Well, that would have been faster than driving." Noel groused.

"Yes, but by the sounds of it, driving is going to be much more comfortable, according to Harry," Adam replied with a grin. "Still, it might be fun just to try it some time. I can't imagine what being sucked through a rubber hose would feel like. Come on. Let's try out your new seats and then you can bring me back here to pick up the car."

"Yeah, you just want me to waste MY gas driving halfway across town." Noel said.

"Of course! The department pays for it anyway, so really, I'm paying for it with my tax money whether I get any benefit from it or not, so I just look at it as getting some good out of my taxes. Well, that and my chauffeur has the night off, so you got elected." Adam replied with a grin.

"Get in." Noel groaned, suddenly hating Adam's sense of humor.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the former Black Summer manor house, and were escorted in. The tokens apparently working, as they entered the house unscathed.

After they had been seated in the library, steaming cups of tea taking the chill off their bones. Harry started the conversation. "Okay. Crash course in witchcraft and wizardry. The men are wizards, the women are witches. You've already seen the practical demonstration, as well as met most of the active sides of the confrontation.

"There's the bad guys, they call themselves Death Eaters, people fighting them call them Deez. They are led by a character that calls himself Lord Voldemort, but his real name is Tom Riddle.

"There's the supposed good guys, that call themselves the Order of the Phoenix. They are led by the headmaster of my old school, named Albus Dumbledore. He's a manipulative S.O.B. that seems to think that me being tortured by my relatives every day is for the greater good, and since everybody thinks that he's the greatest thing since sliced bread, they tend to go along with him.

"There's the Ministry, not really sure whose side they are on, they tend to waffle. The current Minister of Magic is Cornelius Fudge. He's not even an honest politician. He won't stay bought once you bribe him. I told them over a year ago that Voldemort was back. Their response was to call me a liar and try to get me either kissed by a dementor or kicked out of school and my wand broke. My friends and I caught eleven Deez a few months ago, and yet I know at least one of those yahoos out there was one of them. They either let them go, they bought their way out, or they escaped. Probably one of the first two options.

"Then, there's us. I seem to have found myself as the leader of the Ancient and Noble house of Black a few days ago, and became an emancipated minor. Dumbledore and the Order are irritated by this because there's some stupid prophecy that says I'm the only one that can kill Voldemort. They want to keep me under their thumb, and I don't like being squished that way. What you see here, and one other person is the entirety of the House of Black. That one other person is why we need your help, but we can tell you about that after we answer your questions on the background and the current players.

"Oh, and there's also about twenty or thirty thousand others out there that either can't or won't fight for themselves. Given what passes for Defense courses at Hogwarts, that's not surprising. Remus here was there for only one year and I learned more from him than all the rest of the teachers combined. Most of what else I know, I learned on my own, since I seem to end up in the thick of things. Now, questions?"

Harry and the others spent the next hour explaining the wizarding world to Adam and Noel. Fortunately, the fight earlier had quickly dispelled their disbelief, and they were able to go into the conversation with a much more accepting frame of mind. Adam and Remus quickly had the rest of the party groaning from "Werewolf/There wolf" puns after Harry told them of Remus' "furry little problem."

"Okay. That's the crash course on the wizarding world. Count yourself lucky. I had a half giant with a heart of gold and inform me of it. Unfortunately, much as I love Hagrid, he's not much of one for explanations. Had to pick that up on my own as well." Harry said.

"Now, on to the problem I think you can help us with, Adam. I seem to have a family member that is either possessed, or has a case of Dissociative Identity Disorder, I believe it's called. Her name is Belletrix Black, and goes by Trixie. I understand the other 'person' in there is Belladonna de Montaigne, and goes by Bella. As Belletrix could also go by Bella, this has led to quite a bit of confusion for all parties.

"Now, for the bad part. Bella is one of the bad guys. It's come to my attention from someone who would know, that Trixie is in mourning over the death of my godfather - or I guess now it's adoptive father, too - a few weeks ago, and is looking to defect. I want her to be the only person in that body, regardless of how we do it. I don't think that Trixie is responsible for most the actions that had supposedly been committed by her.

"Belladonna appears to be quite insane, as well as being evil. I want her kicked out of the body, and then we can deal with how to clear Trixie's name and make up for past wrongs. It's a matter of Family honor, but I think it will require your help.

"The Wizarding World has no psychiatrists, and the Muggle world shrinks would blow a gasket if they found out about us. Not to mention what Bella would do to a shrink if she got out of control. There wouldn't be enough left of the guy to bother with anything bigger than a sponge and an eyedropper.

"You have magic and can obviously defend yourself. Your magic is different from ours, but I can tell it's not Dark. Dark magic doesn't feel the way I felt when I shook your hands. So, I'm asking you, begging you, to help me. Name anything for a price. I don't care if it breaks me. I have to do this."

Adam was quiet, taking this in. After a moment, he asked, "Who diagnosed Trixie with DID? Was this a professional, or is it a layman's opinion? Also, what do you know about possession? Are we talking demonic, spiritual, or mental?"

"Actually," Harry began, "I guess it's a layman's opinion. My source thinks that's what's wrong with her, and mentioned it to me. I did a bit of reading up, and it seems to fit the bill, given her past history of physical and sexual abuse from a stepfather and what happened at that time. According to my source, the same thing happened when her husband and brother-in-law tried to force themselves on her on her wedding night.

"My only knowledge of possession is mental possession, first hand, and that it hurts. A lot. The other types, I have no actual knowledge of, but thought that it might be a possibility as well. I was hoping that you could figure it out and deal with it for us, or help us deal with it, or whatever."

"Demonic possession is usually a one time deal, because the host will quickly burn out. The subject's soul is forfeit at that point. Spiritual possession is from a dead spirit being called forth either by the subject or someone else, and is also usually a one time deal. Unless the subject is a medium like Noel, normally it is the soul's prior life experience that is brought forth to this time frame. This doesn't happen very often, and the experience is not good for the subject, but it can be dealt with. It would also take the talents of a friend of ours, but that's doable. Mental possession, as you say, is very painful, and is usually not good for the subject either, but can be dealt with psychiatricly, and teaching how to resist such possession is not hard.

"From what you have told me, it does sound like DID, as opposed to possession; but I am going to withhold my diagnosis until I can examine the patient." Adam concluded.

"So, what happened on her wedding night?" Noel asked, curious.

"Rastaban and Rudolphus LeStrange tried to use her virginity for a ritual designed to increase their power. They made the mistake of not tying her hands, and I understand she has at least some wandless magic, at least in this particular spell's case. She blew their genitals all over the walls with an explosive castration hex." Harry replied.

Both Adam and Noel winced, but then Noel said "Good. Sounds like the pair of them deserved it. Trying something like that on a girl's wedding night."

Harry grinned. "Yup. Needless to say, as soon as I get her back here, I plan on declaring the marriage annulled and declaring a blood feud on the Lestrange's. I may be new at this Family stuff, but I do know that an insult such as that can't be denied.

"We may not be a big Family, but we are considered an Ancient and Noble one. There really hasn't been much honor in the family in decades, but I've been charged to change that.

"Step one is lay down the rules. Rule number one is Family first. If we don't honor family, we don't honor anything. You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us.

"Rule number two is do what's right. It may not be the easiest, or the most profitable, but if it isn't right, it's wrong, and too many people have done that for too long. It's time for it to stop.

"Rule three... er... I don't think I've gotten to a rule three yet." Harry finished with a blush.

Adam laughed, and said "Well, Harry, at least you're keeping to the KISS principle."

Tonks perked up and said "WOO HOO! I like that!" and laid a big kiss on Harry, causing him to blush even more furiously.

After everyone else got settled back down from laughing, and Tonks finally released Harry from her lip lock, Ted gasped out "No, Nymphadora. K-I-S-S. Keep It Simple Stupid. That's what Adam was talking about."

"Oh. Well, I think I like my version of the Kiss principle better."

"I think Harry does too." Adam said with a smile, looking at the goofy grin that was now on the thoroughly snogged boy's face.

Forcing himself back to the present time and place, Harry said "You said you would have to examine her before you could make a diagnosis. Does that mean you'll help us?"

"I'll try to help you. I can't make any promises without seeing her, but I'll try." Adam replied with a smile.

"Good enough, Adam. Now, about your fee..." Harry started.

"We'll discuss that when I've had a chance to examine Trixie. To be honest, it sounds like it could be a challenge, and I find myself in need of one, lately. If I need to call in an associate, such as Mr. Peregrine, you might need to pay his expenses, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it, okay?" Adam asked.

"Well, I guess so, but I really wish you would take something." Harry said.

"I'm sure we will reach an amicable agreement after the examination, Harry." Adam stood and held out his hand.

Wincing slightly, Harry stood up and took the man's hand and shook it firmly. Now, all he had to do was get Trixie delivered to him.

"All right, there, Harry?" Adam asked.

"I'll be fine. The Cruciatus curse sends pain messages through all of the nerve endings. After it's over, there's still muscle spasms. I'm just a little sore."

"Take off your shirt, Harry. I'd like to take a look at you."

"What? I said I'll be fine." Harry said.

"And I said take off your shirt. I want to see the aftereffects of this curse. Now, since it's you or Miss Tonks, I think you would prefer it to be you. I may be a psychiatrist, but I'm also a pretty fair battlefield medic. The RAF paid for my degrees, and I paid them back in the hospitals. Now, take off your shirt, please." Adam said.

Grumbling, Harry removed his shirt and allowed himself to be examined. The muscle twitches in his abdominal muscles bespoke a lot of pain over the next several days. When Adam asked him to turn around, Harry was expecting and dreading the startled "Good LORD! Harry, what happened to you?"

"Nothing." Harry said flatly. "Now, are you done? I'd like to put my shirt back on."

Adam came back around to notice the fierce look in Harry's eyes. "I'm sorry, Harry. I won't push you on that, but I would like to talk to you at some time about it. Now, in the mean time, have you ever tried a muscle relaxant for exposure to that curse?"

"Pain potions wear off and actually make you feel worse when they do, Adam." Tonks replied.

"Not pain relievers, muscle relaxants. What is going on now is in response to the nerves being stimulated. The muscles are contracting spontaneously at this point. A muscle relaxant will help with that, pain relievers just mask it. Care to try it?"

"Um, okay, sure." Harry said. "Will it interfere with anything else?"

"I don't think so, but you might be a bit jumpy for a few hours. It has about the same amount of caffeine as six cups of strong coffee," Adam said with a smile.

"Mmmmm. I'm up for that!" Tonks said. "I love to be up all night!"

Adam grabbed a couple of sample packets out of his bag and handed one to Harry and another to Tonks. "One of these every eight hours for the next two days. If you have a problem sleeping, let me know. I'd like to experiment with some of these potions you people have. Do they only work on magical people, or will they work on Muggles? Maybe we can make a lot of money and help a lot of people if we can figure out the active ingredients and distill it down. Black-Sinclair Pharmaceuticals. What do you think?"

"Well, we can let you see a few, and then we can work with it from there. I know that other than the ingredients themselves, magic doesn't go into most of them. I don't know if anyone has ever tried giving them to Muggles before. Who is going to be the guinea pig, though?" Andromeda asked.

"Well, I will for a start, on some of the less deadly stuff. If you have a head ache potion that can take care of some of the migraines that I get after a session, you'll put the Tylenol people out of business." Noel said.

Ted headed for the medicine cabinet and pulled out two bottles of head ache potion. "One for a trial, and one for testing. Harry, can you get your fourth year potions book? It should have the directions in it. If you can make a copy of that page to give to Adam, he can see how it's brewed."

Harry went upstairs, and found the book. A quick copy charm reproduced the formula on a piece of parchment. He handed this off to Adam, and told him that he would inform him when he would set up Trixie's defection.

"That sounds good, Harry. Are you going to have to be moving? What with the attack and the attention from the other groups you just drew, it might not be a bad idea."

Harry thought about it for a moment. "I don't think so. Ted, how are the wards here? Will they withstand what the Order, the Ministry, and the Deez can throw at us?"

Ted answered immediately. He had been expecting Harry to ask the question. "Well, if they all combined, the outside wards might go down. Then they'd have to deal with the stuff in here." Then he grinned. "It might interest you to know that no head of the Black family has ever fallen in his own houses. Of course, neither of them has ever managed to piss off both Dumbledore AND Voldemort at the same time, but I think I'd still like the odds. With both of them together, you'd be toast, but I really can't see them getting along enough to team up and rub you out just yet."

"I don't know. Maybe not yet, but by the time I'm done, they just might." Harry replied with a grin of his own. "Adam, I do have another place that we can go, if we have to. I've not even seen it yet, but I'm told it's up by Loch Ness. If you need someplace quiet to treat Belletrix, that might be an option. In fact, I'm thinking about Castle Urquhart for the meeting place. What do you think? We can set up the muggle repelling wards, meet up at night there, and if it all goes to pot, the worst that can happen is we blow up a ruin."

Thinking back to his own experiences at the Castle, Adam shuddered a bit. "Harry, you know there's a connection to the lands of the Fey there, don't you? They don't take kindly to too much attention."

"Really? Hmm. I wonder if Luna knows about that connection? Well, do you think they will blame us if we don't do anything wrong?"

"It's hard to tell. I think you'll need Noel with you there, just in case. He has... a bit of history with them, shall we say."

Ted's head jerked up, but the rest of the group looked confused. "You mean it's TRUE?"

Noel glowered at Adam, but then nodded. "Aye. The legend of the Fairie Flag is true. It has been used its three times, but I might be able to offer some protection. At least they didn't kill me the last time I was up there."

The others looked at Noel and Ted like they had grown an extra head each. "What is this about a Fairie Flag?" Harry asked. He assumed, since he was the youngest, he got to show off his ignorance better than his elders.

Noel sighed. "Back before written record, the Patriarch of Clan McLeod helped the King of the Fairies. Exactly what he did has been lost, but the King gave the Clan the Fairie Flag. If it is used, Clan McLeod will be victorious, and the world will be saved. It calls the Fey folk from Summer to assist the McLeods. The first time it was used was back around 1000 A.D. The second time was in World War II, and the third was six months ago. Adam and I were dealing with a mage that had gotten hold of a Celtic Druid Torq. That torq was being used to call up one of the ancient Storm Gods, Taranis. All told, it wasn't a pretty sight. At least now I know that Nessie exists."

"Really. I had always wondered about that. I thought if she did, it was a water dragon or something. I never thought she might be one of the Fey folk." Harry said. "That could be kind of cool, if Potter Manor is close to there. Noel, even with the Fairies being close by, I think that it will still be a good place to pull off the pick up. Can I ask that you accompany us? I don't think it will be more than a drop in, pick up Trixie, and get out, but I can use all the help I can get."

"Aye. The way Ted phrased it when we met, I have no choice. I'm in for good or ill at this point." Noel said.

"No. I will release you from whatever Ted said, Noel. I'll not ask you to willingly get hurt for me. If you don't want to go, I'll understand completely." Harry said.

"Thanks, but that doesn't matter. Now that I know what you're up against, I'm in. I'll just tell Annie that it's a special thing at Lodge that night, and not to expect me back until late. She'll know I'm lying, but can't tell her what is really going on. It goes with the jobs." Noel replied with a smile.

"That goes for me as well, Harry." Adam said. "I have some contacts that might be of use to you later as well."

Harry didn't know what to say. Finally, he stuttered "Th... Thanks. But... But why?"

Adam laughed. "Because you're doing what's right. You have some serious enemies, but you keep going anyway. Besides, I figure Noel and I just irritated the same people you're up against with our actions tonight. The Death Eaters because we caught them, and the Ministry and this Order of vigilantes just by being with you. Now they have to figure out who we are and where we fit in. They just know that we're wild cards at the moment. Most people don't like it when someone else has a wild card and they don't."

Harry looked shocked. He'd never thought about it that way. "I... I didn't..."

Adam and Noel laughed. "Don't worry about it, lad. We'd have done the same thing regardless of whether you were there with us or not." Noel said. "You just let us have enough numbers to keep us from getting hurt. Not to mention all the paper work I'd have had to fill out at the station. I don't even know HOW I'd manage to explain it. Hmm. A bunch of guys appeared out of no where, pointed sticks at the place I was just in and the whole place went up. I shot several, and tied up the rest. I brought them to the station, and they just disappeared from the cells. Yeah, the Captain would love that one.

"Well. It's getting late, and Annie is going to be asking questions I can't answer when I get home. I just hope she won't make me sleep on the couch again. It's too lumpy." Noel said with a smile.

"Okay. We'll send Hedwig when we can get the meet set up. It's been great to meet you both. I can't tell you what this means to me." Harry said, shaking both men's hands.

"Hedwig?" Adam asked.

"She's my owl. If you see a snowy owl, she'll have a message for you. Let me get you some owl treats to take with you. If you're very far away she'll probably be a bit peckish when she finds you."

"Could we see her?" Adam asked.

"Oh, sure. Hedwig!" Harry called, lifting his arm.

Silently, Hedwig flew into the room and landed on Harry's outstretched arm and moved quickly up to his shoulder. Harry grinned and stroked her chest lightly while Hedwig nipped at his earlobe. "Hedwig, this is Noel McLeod and Adam Sinclair. I'm probably going to have some messages going to them pretty soon."

Hedwig looked carefully at the two men, and then bobbed her head in an affirmative.

"May I touch her?" Adam asked, entranced.

"Sure, just be careful. She can get very upset if she thinks you're going to hurt her."

Adam slowly reached out to her, murmuring to her how beautiful she is. She looked down at his hand, and bobbed her head in an affirmative manner again. Adam stroked her breast as Harry had, and the owl cooed softly. Adam smiled and looked to Harry. "She's beautiful. I look forward to seeing her soon."

Tonks grabbed some owl treats for Noel and Adam, as well as a few for Harry to give to Hedwig now.

"Well, Noel, shall we go?" Adam asked his friend.

"Aye. Looking forward to working with you lot."

With that, the two men departed.

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A/N: All rights to Dr. Adam Sinclair, Noel MacLeod, and Ethan Peregrine are owned by Kathryn Kurtz, Mercedes Lackey, and their publishers. I am just borrowing them for a minor bit part. If you haven't read the Adept series from them, I highly recommend it.


	18. Rant about OOTP movie

Notice: Harry Potter, Tom Riddle, and any other characters you may recognize in this story are the property of JKR and/or whoever had the brains, contacts, and cash (or other negotiable items) to secure the rights to them. Alas, I had the brains, just none of the other stuff.

Quick moment to the side to rant a bit about OOTP, the movie. If you don't want movie spoilers, bail out now. If you liked it, I have to ask what book you've read. (grin) I'll get the next chapter out before Friday, I think.

If you have not yet seen HP and The Order of the Phoenix, _**DON'T!!!!!**_

Here are the reasons I say this:

No Quidditch, including the reason that Harry and the Twins lost their brooms.

Cho Chang took the heat for giving up the DA, not Marietta Edgecombe.

No one was cursed with killer acne saying "SNEAK."

Fred, George, Ron, and Harry all got haircuts. Fred & George are supposed to have long hair, and Harry's isn't supposed to change.

The scar, which should be over Harry's temple, is now directly above his right eye.

Fred & George's departure from Hogwarts somehow took place during OWL testing. Why do that, since NEWTS take place at the same time.

NO SWAMPS!!!! I was so looking forward to see if they had already developed one with alligators prior to leaving.

Ron & Hermione were not listed out as Prefects, and did nothing to curb the Twin's product testing.

Umbridge & Co. invade the Room of Requirement. Hogwarts wouldn't let that happen.

Snape's teaching of Occlumency came off weak, and the character looked like he had gained about 20+ lbs.

In DoM, the prophecy is given to Harry by the orb prior to it being broken

The DoM battle was nothing like the book. Hermione didn't get almost sliced in half, Ron did not get attacked by the brains. Neville didn't get a broken nose. It was quite boring until the Order showed up.

Bellatrix hits Sirius with an AK, and he then steps back into the veil. How does one step back after an AK?

The Atrium battle did not show any animation of the fountain figures, nor did Fawkes eat an AK. That would have been some REALLY cool CGI.

Dumbledore commiserates with Harry at the ministry, and Harry takes it.

Dumbledore's office doesn't get destroyed. (THAT one I really wanted to see.)

Ginny did not talk to Harry at Christmas break about the possession. Actually, I think she had about a dozen words total. Kinda makes it hard to stick with canon in HBP when they yank out the only reason they would get together.

Umbridge was a complete and total bitch. Quite believable.

Tonks was cute, but didn't get much time on camera. Luna, Sirius, and Grawp pretty much stole the show. Luna's character was awesome, beginning to end. Sirius was **Sirius**. 'nuff said. Grawp was cool when he picked up Hermione and she ordered him to put her down.

Wait for it to come out on HBO. Two stars, tops.


	19. Aftermath

Notice: Harry Potter, Tom Riddle, and any other characters you may recognize in this story are the property of JKR and/or whoever had the brains, contacts, and cash (or other negotiable items) to secure the rights to them. Alas, I had the brains, just none of the other stuff.

**Aftermath**

As Adam and Noel left, Andy, Ted and Remus shared a significant look, and quickly made their way upstairs; leaving Tonks alone with Harry.

"So... How are you doing, Harry?"

"Well, better than they guy I killed, anyway." Harry replied. Tonks could hear the self loathing beginning to fill his voice.

"Would it have been better if they had won?" Tonks asked gently.

"What? No. It's just... I didn't MEAN to kill him. All I wanted was to cut his wand or his arm so that he dropped it. I guess he dropped it all right." Harry sighed.

"Honey, it's okay. You DID hit his wand, and his arm, too. Your aim was just a bit off, and the edge caught his neck. If he'd been in another position than what is required to hold a Cruciatus, he'd still be alive. As it was, it was a miracle that you could fight off the pain to even TRY to cast a spell at him."

"Yeah, I guess your right. Still wish it wasn't me that killed him."

"Actually, I'm pretty glad that you killed him, Harry. At least now you're here for me to thank properly."

"Thank me? For what?" Harry asked

"Several things, actually. The first was for jumping in front of that curse for me. Nobody's ever done something like that for me before." With that, Tonks kissed Harry long and hard.

"The second thing is that I know who it was. The man's name was Yaxley. He was Fudge's Ministry Accountant. I think that when we speak with Madame Bones we should suggest an audit of the books for the Minister's office." Tonks said with a grin. Another long kiss made her start to giggle at Harry's goofy grin.

"And the third thing is... Just for being you." With the next kiss, Harry thought he was just going to turn into a puddle of goo and ooze off the couch and onto the floor. Tonks had accomplished her goal of letting Harry forget, even if only temporarily, the fact that a man had died by his wand tonight. Gently, she helped Harry off the couch and took him to bed.

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Albus Dumbledore was furious. Kingsley Shacklebolt and Hestia Jones had had Harry Potter, and let him walk away. Worse, they let him walk away with two people that were unknown to him, or anyone in the Order. And by far the worst, Harry was going dark. He had admitted to killing one man, and had threatened to kill a dozen more.

The only good thing to come out of the events of this evening was that at least now they knew the general area in which to search for their misplaced weapon. Every available resource of the Order would be sent to scour Edinburgh and the surrounding areas. It was, after all, for the greater good.

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Lord Voldemort was also furious. He had TOLD the Death Eaters that until further notice, nothing was to go on in Scotland. He knew from his link that Harry was far to the north of his location, almost as far as when he was at Hogwarts. Therefore, all raids were to be conducted in England and Ireland.

It was to Yaxley's benefit that he had bled out in that parking lot. When they eventually returned, the others would not be so lucky. If this hindered his plans in anyway, they would beg for the blessings of death.

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Noel McLeod was right. Annie had asked questions he couldn't answer. He simply said that it was an unexpected meeting that took a bit longer than he had expected. She accepted it, but was not very happy about it. At least he didn't have to sleep on the couch this night.

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Adam Sinclair returned to his manor house feeling that his night had just begun. His day had began early, and the events of the evening had taken a bit of a toll on him, but he knew he needed more information. Luckily it had been several hours since they had eaten.

"Brantley, could you light the fire in the study for me? I believe I will be needing it tonight." Adam said as his butler accepted his jacket. "Oh, and please have some tea and sandwiches prepared for me in a couple of hours. I will be in need of it then."

"Very well, sir. Should I contact Mr. Peregrine, sir?" Brantley asked.

Adam thought about it. He didn't like to perform this ritual without a backup, but Noel was busy trying to make things up to Annie, and Ethan had been working nonstop for the past week on the family portraits for Madame Celine. He was just needing some information. It wasn't like he was going to be in conference with Michael or anything. "No, I don't think it will be necessary. This shouldn't take too long." Adam said, as he prepared to bathe.

Forty five minutes found Adam in the study, alone, dressed simply in a white linen robe. The study was very warm. Adam placed his hands in his lap, right hand over left, with his ring facing him. The blue gemstone seemed to glow from within as it reflected the light from the fire. Adam said a prayer for protection, and concentrated on his ring. As he stared at it, he slowly slipped into a trance.

He felt his consciousness slip away from his body. Soon, he was on the astral plane. Sliding deeper into the trance, he felt as if he were being lifted "up" and "away." As he opened his eyes, the blinding white light from the Hall came into being around him. Adam knelt at the entrance of the Hall and said another prayer.

After he regained his feet, he strode into the Hall to the podium. There, he mentally requested two books. One was fairly slender, and had the name of "Belletrix Ambrosia Black." The other was much thicker. The name was "Harry James Potter." Adam had suspected that Harry Potter had an old soul. He had felt a connection with the young man when their hands first touched. He hadn't expect it to be like this, though.

A quick perusal of Belletrix's book told him the information he needed to know. She was not being possessed by a past life. That meant that it was either a mental possession or an actual mental problem. Either of these could be dealt with much more safely than the former. A thought sent the book back to the shelves.

As Adam flipped through the second book, a pattern emerged, giving him a feel for the young man. A mix of passion and compassion. A fighter. Never backing down from a challenge. Almost a suicidal tendency to put the welfare of others before himself. Honor. Integrity. A natural leader. A man he would be proud to call friend - and given the name Jean Benoit was listed - a man he had at one time far in the past, been proud to call his Commander.

As he sent the book back to the shelves and prepared to return to his body, Adam heard a voice. "Huntsmaster."

"Protector."

"You will teach this one?" While expressed as a question, Adam knew it to be an order. An order he had already decided he would be glad to follow.

"Yes, Protector."

"Good. It may be that in the teaching, you too will learn something."

"Yes, Protector."

"Good Hunting, Huntsmaster." Michael said. Adam knew he was dismissed.

Adam knelt once again, said a prayer, and returned to himself.

While he had been "gone," just over two hours had passed. Hot tea and warm sandwiches were in a tray beside him. Blankets were carefully set to the side of the fireplace, and ready to be wrapped around him.

As Adam simultaneously replenished his energy, grounded his soul, and warmed his body, he was thinking. A direct request from Michael about a person was not the norm. He would do his best, as always. Anything less would be unthinkable for a Huntsmaster.

After he had finished, he slowly got up and went to bed. This would require some thinking. A lot of it.

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Amelia Bones was not happy. She had been called in to the DMLE office just as she had been sitting down to her dinner. At first, she had been thrilled that the Aurors had captured eleven Death Eaters, with four dead, all at no loss to themselves. She was a bit irritated, when she found out that one of the dead was the Minister's accountant. She was more irritated, however when she heard that not only had her Aurors been upstaged, but upstaged by an ex-Auror, her parents, a boy, a werewolf and a pair of MUGGLES as well.

That wasn't what had made her truly unhappy, though. What made her particularly unhappy was when Jenkins reported that the head of the Auror team had tried to kidnap the boy for Albus Dumbledore. Amelia Bones was not an idiot, by any stretch of the imagination. She knew about Dumbledore's vigilantes. She also knew that she had (now) two of her Aurors in with them, and the blame could be placed squarely on the shoulders of Alastor Moody. She HADN'T been aware that their loyalties had extended to kidnapping for Dumbledore. She had been unaware that Harry Potter had come into his peerage, but that was beside the point. Kidnapping anyone was against the law. And if there was one thing Amelia Bones stood for, it was the Law.

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AN: Sorry, I know it's short. It was just that that was a good stopping place, and I had promised to have this out tonight. (well, for me it's tonight. For everyone else, it's gawd-awful in the morning)

AN2:All rights to Dr. Adam Sinclair, Noel MacLeod, and Ethan Peregrine are owned by Kathryn Kurtz, Mercedes Lackey, and their publishers. I am just borrowing them for a minor bit part. If you haven't read the Adept series from them, I highly recommend it.


	20. Mental, Completely Mental

Notice: Harry Potter, Tom Riddle, and any other characters you may recognize in this story are the property of JKR and/or whoever had the brains, contacts, and cash (or other negotiable items) to secure the rights to them. Alas, I had the brains, just none of the other stuff.

As most of this will be written messages between Harry and Tom, _Harry's writing will be in italics_, and **Tom's will be in bold.**

**Mental. Completely Mental.**

Harry Potter woke up the next morning at 5:00 AM, just as he always did. After untangling himself from Nymphadora, and carefully getting off her water bed without waking her, Harry went to the bathroom to relieve himself. As he was washing his hands, the notebook hit him in the back of the head.

"Dammit Tom, don't you EVER sleep?" Harry groaned as he rubbed the back of his head. He knew when he awoke that Tom was irritated. Harry just hoped Tom wasn't mad at him for killing Yaxley and three other deez last night and getting the other eleven locked up.

Harry grabbed the notebook and headed down to the study.

_Good Morning Tom. What seems to be the problem?_

**What happened last night, Harry?**

Harry paused, trying to think of a way to put it diplomatically. Finally, he decided just to gut it out. If he was mad, at least he was a long way away, and he already had Dumbledore's crowd knowing where he was. What's one more?

_We were meeting some friends at a diner, had supper, and when we came out, Yaxley and his goon squad decided to show up. They had their wands pointing at us, so we got into it. You're now short four guys permanently and eleven are probably still at the Ministry being processed._

**Just so you know, it was not my orders for them to go to Edinburgh. I told them specifically to stay out of Scotland. I told them to stick to England and Ireland for their raids. **

_Wait a minute. How did you know I was in Scotland?_

**The link, Harry.**

_The link? What do you mean? You mean you can tell where I am?_

**Not precisely. I can tell that you are north of my location, and not quite as far as when you are at Hogwarts. That means that you are somewhere in Scotland, I presumed somewhere around Edinburgh or Glasgow.**

_Can I do that?_

**Probably, with practice. Relax, and clear your mind. Concentrate on the link, and you will be able to sense a direction and how strong the link is. The first few times, you might just feel a direction, but with time, you can gauge the strength of the connection.**

_I thought that Occlumency would shut down the link._

**No, it will mask our thoughts and emotions, but the link is still there. By the way, how are your Occlumency shields progressing?**

_It's rubbish right now. I understand the idea behind it, and am able to clear the current thoughts out of my mind, but I don't think I can get any kind of a decent shield. It doesn't feel right, some how._

**I would offer to attempt breaking them, but I doubt that would be a good idea for either of us, given our past.**

_Haha. Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll pass. I'm going to be getting some tutoring on that in the near future. At least I can pretty much keep my thoughts and emotions down. Now, it's just a matter of keeping them down when I need to._

**That's good to hear, Harry. Have you come up with anything about Bellatrix Black LeStrange yet?**

_Yes, as a matter of fact. That's what the meeting last night was about. I was interviewing someone about her case when Yaxley stuck his big nose into my affairs._

**Well, I understand that you won't have that problem any more. Don't worry about the others. They will not bother you again, even after I bribe Fudge to let them back. They are mine, and I will certainly... explain... their errors to them in exquisite detail before I kill them.**

_Um, isn't that a bit much? Just because they went to Scotland?_

**You see, Harry. It's a matter of leadership. I might not have punished them as much if they had succeeded in their task without making me look bad. As it is, if I don't punish them severely, the others will think I have gone soft. I can't have that. If they get away with it once, they will rise up against me. A leader can not show weakness. He must project strength at all times, and his word is law. They broke the law, so they must pay.**

_Ouch. That sucks, all the way around. It sounds like I should have some headache potion on hand pretty soon. I think I'll make sure to purchase some stock in Dr. Phil Goot's. It sounds like I'm going to be needing it for the discounts._

**I promise I will do my best not to let my emotions get the better of me while I am doing this. To be honest, it's not something that I enjoy, but it is something that has to be done.**

_If you say so. I'll leave the world conquest to you. I have enough trouble just trying to figure out how to deal with having a family of my own. Which brings the conversation back to Trixie. I would like to set up a drop for this coming Saturday night. I was thinking of a neutral location, like the Urquhart Castle parking lot._

**Excellent. Nice location. It's out of the way, and no one around for miles except possibly some idiot trying to find a non existent mythological creature. No one would believe the lights of a portkey drop. Shall we say, midnight?**

_That sounds good. Now, will you stun her before she comes to us, or is that up to me?_

**Stun her? No, I think a dreamless sleep drought would be best for her. I will remove her mark as she sleeps. It's even more painful to remove than it is to emplace. She will go to sleep, and awaken wherever you will be taking her. From that point, she will be no longer be one of mine. If she should desire to return, naturally, I will accept her; but I will not try to force the issue. Would you like to have the LeStrange brothers (to use the term loosely) accompany her?**

Harry thought about it. On the positive side, it would rid the world of a pair of sadistic butchers, as well as keep them out of his hair; as he had "stolen" Rudolphus' "wife." On the negative side, Trixie had pretty well removed them from the gene pool already, and if he was going to face the pair of them, he'd rather have some more training under his belt. He didn't want his family to be hurt simply because of revenge. Once the marriage was annulled, he felt that honor would have been fulfilled. He wouldn't look for the fight, but if it came, he would be prepared.

_No. Just tell them that Trixie is with her family, and if they seek out the Blacks, what they suffered at her hands would be child's play compared to what I will do to them. This is their one warning. Cross me again and they will not live to regret it. If they insist, allow them to try to get her back. I will not hold you to our agreement in their case. You can even tell them where we are._

**Very well. If you wish, but I suspect that one of the morons from last night will tell them where you were when I ask for their report.**

_Well, I have to get ready for the day, Tom. If you have nothing else?_

**No. Nothing else. I just wanted to tell you that last night's attack was unsanctioned.**

_Understood. Goodbye, Tom._

**Goodbye.**

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Lord Voldemort smiled. Good. The boy was still talking and unaware of any of his plans. He would be rid of the insane whiner on Saturday, and perhaps the LeStrange "brothers" would get lucky and maim the boy, now that they were released from his pledge. If not, what good was a pureblood that couldn't procreate?

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Harry smiled. His family was going to get larger on Saturday. He needed to write a note to Adam and send Hedwig off, but first, breakfast for five was not going to make itself.

As he started the fire under the skillet and in the oven, he called the ingredients from the pantry. As he was mixing, he called over the quill and parchment. Between times of working on the meal, he scribbled a quick note to Adam. Just as he finished plating the meals, and setting them on trays to take upstairs, he called for Hedwig. He handed her the note, and sent the Snowy white owl winging her way to the southwest. Levitating the trays, Harry carefully brought his family breakfast in bed. Remus was in the first bedroom, so he knocked on the door.

"Moony?"

"What's up, Cub?" Remus replied sleepily.

"I have breakfast for you if you wish."

"Harry, you didn't have to do that. I could have fixed something in a few minutes."

"Well, um... I kinda did have to. I've ate what you call cooking, and decided that you need some real food. Tuck in."

"Thanks, Harry. I know my cooking skills aren't exactly up to par, but they beat Tonks'." Moony replied with a laugh.

"I know. That's why I make sure that I do all the cooking around here. I want to have a kitchen left when the meal is over." Harry grinned.

From down the hall, they both heard "Hey! I resemble that remark! Now quit gabbing and bring me my food! You making me smell it and not letting me have it is torture!"

They both laughed at Nymphadora's complaints. "Well, I guess I'd better get going before she hexes me into next week." Harry said.

"No, you don't have to worry too much about that. If she did, she'd have to cook for herself until you recovered." Remus laughed.

"Yeah, but then I'd have to rebuild the kitchen. Better go. I have Andy's and Ted's to deliver as well." Harry turned and headed out the door.

Shaking his head, Moony whispered "Whipped."

Quickly, Harry stuck his head back in and said, just as quietly "Jealous?" with a grin.

Moony chuckled, shook his head, and said "Go on with you."

Harry delivered the elder Tonks' meals, as they had been rudely awakened by their daughter, and then brought Tonks' and his trays into the bedroom.

"Took you long enough." Tonks groused.

"Hey! I had to deal with my other professors, first. You were the one that wanted the bedroom at the end of the hall." Harry laughed.

"Well, it IS the Master Bedroom. Of course, I prefer being a Sub, myself..." Tonks grinned as she saw Harry's look of confusion. "What, never heard of Dominant/Submissive sex play? I love being tied, teased, and spanked."

Harry turned bright red at the thoughts going through his head. "Uh... um... I... uh... That is to say... I'd, um... kinda like to figure out the normal sex play first, if you don't mind."

Tonks laughed. "Oh, this is going to be soooo much fun! I'm ready whenever you are, sweetie! I've been ready since the first night I saw you. Well... make that the second night in the flat. The first time I saw you was when you were being Sorted, and I don't think I had the hots for an eleven year old. At least not until I overheard Katie and Angelina talking about seeing you in the showers..."

"What? How did those two see me in the shower?" Harry asked, aghast at the thought.

"Oh, I thought you had already heard about the mirrors in the Girl's Quidditch locker rooms being charmed to look in the Boy's showers. Helga and Rowena were complete perverts," Tonks said.

"WHAT!"

"Oh, yes. They were the ones to have charmed the mirrors. Of course, they were also the ones to set up the stair alarms as well, so I guess they figured it was a case of 'look but don't touch.'" Tonks explained.

Harry was completely shocked. He was also glad that he was never setting foot back in that damned castle ever again. Ghosts sneaking peeks at him in the bath, team mates watching him shower, evil professors torturing him, Death Eaters trying to kill him, possessed teachers, and to top it all off, a manipulative old codger trying to keep him in place he gets beaten half to death every damned night and almost killed every year he went. Safest place for him? Right... When Snorkacks fly!

Still, curiousity about his perverted team mates got the better of him. "So. What did they have to say about me?"

"Hmm? Oh, they had a nickname for you. No big deal." Tonks said, trying to draw him in.

"Really? Hope it wasn't too insulting."

"Oh, no. Quite flattering, actually." Tonks said, barely managing to keep a straight face.

"And are you going to tell me what that nickname might be?" Harry asked. He was starting to get frustrated now.

"Hmm? Oh, sure. I'll tell you. I mean, it IS your nickname, after all."

"Well?" Harry asked.

"Hmm. That's a deep subject, Harry." Tonks smiled.

"Huh?"

"What?" Tonks asked, looking innocent.

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked, very frustrated.

"Wells, of course. They are a very deep subject." Tonks said, grinning now.

"AARGH!" With that, Harry grabbed his girlfriend and started tickling her, upsetting the now empty breakfast trays.

"AHHH! Oh! Ow. Owww!" Tonks whined, as Harry's tickling hit some muscles that were still sore from the remains of the curse she had been under.

"Oh, shite! I'm sorry, honey." Harry said. "Are you okay? I wasn't feeling too bad, so I assumed you were alright as well."

"I... I'll be fine, Harry." Tonks said. "Don't worry about it. Just feeling a bit sore yet."

"Hmmm. Well, I don't know about that, Miss Tonks. I think this calls for a thorough inspection to see exactly how you are doing." Harry said, hoping that some of his concern would mask the evil glint he still had in his eye. He tossed most of the pillows off the bed, and said "Roll over onto your stomach, Miss Tonks."

"Why, Harry... What are you going to do?" Tonks asked.

"Just roll over on your stomach, Nymphadora. I promise I won't hurt you." Harry said.

"Okay." With a sigh, Tonks carefully rolled over onto her stomach.

Harry grabbed his wand, locked the door, and quickly banished her T-shirt, leaving her only in her thong panties. After hearing her startled "EEP!" at her disappearing clothes, Harry put up a silencing charm on the room. Harry looked at his wand, and with a shrug, put it behind his ear. Maybe Luna was on to something there. At least now Mad-Eye wouldn't accuse him of trying to blow a buttock off.

Knowing that the Cruciatus worked over the entire body, Harry first took her left hand, and began a careful massage of it. After he worked his way up to her shoulder, he allowed Tonks to have her arm back, and moved over to the other side of the bed, and began the same on her right. After her arms, he worked over her feet, calves, and lower thighs. As he began on her upper thighs, he could tell that he was having some kind of effect on her. She was shifting her weight in the bed and moaning.

Worried that he might be hurting her more, he asked if she was okay. "Harry, if you stop now, I'll put YOU under that damned curse! This is wonderful!"

Not wanting to be cursed again, Harry continued. As he worked his way up her thighs, she shifted her legs apart a bit. Harry could tell that Tonks was getting worked up, as her panties were beginning to get damp spots.

Grinning, after Harry finished with her thighs, he carefully straddled them; and, leaning over her back, began at her temples and worked his way through her scalp, down her neck, shoulders, and back, before working over the gluteous muscles of her rear. By the time he was finished with her back, she was moaning continuously.

"Okay, hon. Time to turn over." Harry said, getting off of her thighs. He was looking forward to what he had planned.

As she rolled over, Harry grinned as he saw that she was panting and had a bit of a wild look to her eyes.

Harry carefully worked over the front of her thighs, noting that her thong was now very wet, and very carefully avoided all contact with her sex. He again positioned himself atop her and began gently carressing her face, working from forehead to chin. He worked down her neck, to her shoulders, to her chest, carefully avoinding working on her breasts. He then proceeded to work on her stomach muscles. He worked down to her panties, and then stopped.

"Are you going to tell me what my nickname is?" He asked.

"What? What nickname? Why'd you stop?" Tonks moaned.

"The nickname that Katie and Angelina had for me."

"Oh. That. Well, of course I will. All you have to do is ask. But first, would you _please_ finish what you started?" Tonks begged.

For a moment, that floored Harry. He _had_ asked, hadn't he? After thinking back for a moment, he realized that no, in fact, he _hadn't_ asked! He had asked if she _would_ tell him, but he had not asked what the name was. He mentally groaned to himself. She had got him again!

Feeling slightly embarrassed by this turn of events, he grinned and began work on Tonk's pectoral muscles and her breasts. He began softly on the soft tissue, but she soon told him to be a bit rougher. He kept working deeper into the tissue until he heard a hissing "yesssss... just like that..." from his willing victim.

After her breasts, he wasn't very sure if he should continue, but Tonks begged for him to do so. He shifted his position, grabbed his wand from behind his ear and banished her thong, and stopped; staring at her beautiful sex. He realized he had no clue what to do. Well, he finally decided. A rubdown of her body seemed to have worked so far, so perhaps he should continue as he had thus far. If she wanted more, he was sure that she would tell him.

As he worked his way down from her hips to her sex, her moaning increased in volume. As he began to work her outer lips, he noticed that every time the side of his hand hit a certain spot, she would jerk and moan louder. Wanting to prolong the experience, as she was panting heavily and her hips seemed to be moving of their own accord, Harry shifted to the other side, and began at her hips again. Her whimpers almost made Harry sorry he had done this to her. Almost.

As before, just as she was panting and jerking on the bed, Harry stopped, and removed his hands, saying "Oh, shoot. I forgot about where your panties covered your bum!"

"Ahhhh! Harry!" Tonks whined loudly.

Harry snickered, and moved his hand down between her legs and under her body, and began massaging the narrow strip that he had missed earlier. As a consolation to Tonks, he pressed his arm tightly against her sex. This soon had her rubbing herself against the muscles of his arm as he worked his way down. As he reached her nether hole, she began bucking uncontrollably against his arm, screaming "Oh... Oh God... Oh Merlin... Oh HARRY!"

As Tonks was panting and trying to recover, Harry grinned and asked "Are you over the effects of the curse yet?"

"Oh... Blimey! Harry... What did you _do_ to me? I've never came like that before!"

"It was just a massage, Nymphadora. It was my first time at it, so I hope it was okay."

Still panting, Tonks said "Okay? Okay? It was more than okay. It was wonderful. And it was more than just a massage, too. I could tell that when you started. It felt like you were leaching the pain out as you went along. And then, when you started to get me hot and bothered, it was like it was magnifying everything. Does that make sense?"

"Um, no, not really. All I was trying to do was to make you feel better."

"Well, I would have to say that you succeeded beyond your wildest expectations on _that_, Mister Potter." Tonks said with a grin.

"Okay. Then I call that mission accomplished, then. Now, please tell me what Katie and Angelina's nickname for me is."

Tonks giggled. "Well, it's not quite accurate, at least when you're standing up, but with you on your knees like this, I'd say it's pretty close." She reached over and felt his length as the head had slipped down and out of the leg of his boxers. "It's Tripod."

Harry groaned, but neither could tell if it was from his own aroused state, or the fact that everyone in school must have known something so personal about him. Although it _did_ explain some of the looks he got from some of the girls in the hallways.

As she gripped him, she began to move her hand along the length of the shaft. Deciding turnabout was fair play, she reached up with her other hand, grabbed his wand from behind his ear, and disrobed him. Soon, he was the one begging for release. As it finally was granted, he decided that he definitely liked having an older woman as a girlfriend. He couldn't see any of the girls in school (with the exception of that slut Parkinson) being not only able but willing to grant this kind of release to a fifteen year old.

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Harry and Tonks were the last ones to get a shower that morning, unsurprisingly. As they came down stairs, neither could hide the goofy grins on their faces. Remus took one look at them and had a very hard time controlling his laughter. Andromeda smiled, but Ted looked more than a bit upset. Nymphadora was still his little girl. He might realize in his heart that she was twenty one, an adult and an ex-Auror, but to him she was still his seven year old daughter that thought boys were "Ick! Gross!" He slowly got through to his head that this boy, no, young man was not only his Family Patriarch, but the person that had jumped in front of an Unforgivable for his daughter. As these thoughts came to him, his expression softened. Still, the father in him couldn't quite let it go. He stepped up beside Harry and said "Remember, I'm Muggleborn. Patriarch or not, if you hurt her, you'll find yourself begging for Voldemort to come and kill you. It'd be a lot less than what I'll do to you."

Harry turned to look calmly at Ted and said "Don't worry, sir. If I hurt her, there won't be enough left of me for you to torture. I'll take care of it myself."

Ted looked into those emerald green eyes and realized he had nothing to worry about. Harry was being completely honest with him. His fatherly worries - while not completely vanished - would never be brought up again with this particular young man. He smiled and clapped him on the back. "Good enough for me." With that, the matter was dropped.

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As they were all seated at the kitchen table, Andromeda said "Looks like we have a busy day ahead of us. You need to meet with Madame Bones, and I've found a few discrepancies already that we need to deal with as soon as possible. I think it will take a visit to Gringott's to take care of that matter. We can probably be back here after lunch for your training. Any thoughts on what you would like to be working on?"

Harry thought for a moment and said "Well, since I'm legally an adult now, I'd like to learn apparation and maybe how to make portkeys. I'm getting tired of having to depend on someone else when we are travelling. If something happened and I was by myself, I'd be buggered."

Tonks said "That's a good idea, Harry. Let's work on the apparation right now, because after we get you taught the coordinate version of apparation, it will be easier to work on the portkeys. Of course, any portkeys you create will be considered illegal, but it's just a 50 galleon fine if you get caught with an unregistered one." She said that last sentence with a grin.

"Hmmm. I don't know if I can handle that stiff penalty that they are going to hit me with. Any ideas?" Harry asked.

Remus grinned and spoke up. "Just one. Don't get caught. That always worked for me and the rest of the Marauders."

Everyone at the table chuckled. Tonks said "Okay, we'll get started on the apparation training when we get back. Anything else we need to do while we're in Diagon?"

Ted said "I need to stop off at Flourish and Blott's to see about a couple of books on Mage sight. Anybody else?"

Remus said "I'll go along with you. I wanted to take a look at their defense section."

Andi said "Okay, that's settled. We all go to the Ministry, then while the three of us go to Gringott's, you two boys will head for the book store. Anything else?"

"What seems to be the problem we need to take care of at Gringott's?" Harry asked Andromeda.

"Well, it seems that Cygnus made a few gifts to a few people out roaming around. They stopped paying back the 'loans' when Sirius was sent to Azkaban. That brings the penalty clauses into effect. I thought we could make things a bit tight for people out there that are trying to do you in." The ex-Slytherin said with a predatory grin.

"What do you mean? Remember, I know nothing about what you are bookkeeping or finance or any of that stuff, Professor Andi. I'd kind of like to not look like a complete idiot in front of the Goblins if I can help it. I want them to at least assume that I know _something_ about what you are talking about." Harry replied.

"Okay. In 1978, Cygnus gifted a total of 10 million galleons to various Death Eaters. I have the specifics on who got how much, if you like. Now, the Ministry taxes 'gifts' of money at a forty percent rate. Now, if they had done so, the total given would have only been 6 million galleons. However, they do _not_ tax loans. Typically, a gift will be set up as a loan, with the borrower to repay at one galleon per year, with the debt to be forgiven at the time of the borrower's death. Now, the loans were paid faithfully up until 1984. At the end of that year, Sirius - officially the last of the Blacks - was in Azkaban, and all payments to the Black accounts on these loans ceased."

"Okay. So that means what, I'm out a couple hundred galleons, tops? This seems like a lot of work just to reclaim 15 galleons from each of these people." Harry said.

"Ah, but I haven't told you the neat part yet. You see, all loans have penalty clauses for defaulting on payment. When a borrower does not make a payment on the loan, he is in default. The specific penalties of these loans were that the borrower would be liable for the total amount of the loan, plus interest when the lender forclosed upon the loan from the time that the borrower did not pay. The interest amount was set at the time the loan notes were signed at the prime interest rate of that time."

"Okay, I think I understand so far. So, if a loan is in default, but not forclosed on by the lender, what does the borrower have to do?" Harry asked.

"All the borrower has to do at that point is to bring the payments up current and the loan would no longer be in default." Andromeda replied.

"Okay, so if I foreclose on these loans, I stand to gain back the ten million galleons that were loaned out? That sounds worthwhile. Definitely need to go to Gringott's then." Harry said.

"No, Harry. You stand to regain the ten million, plus interest."

"Well, that can't be all that much, is it? I mean really, what interest is there?" Harry asked.

Andromeda laughed. "Harry, have you ever heard of the 'Rule of 72?'"

At Harry's head shake, she continued. "Okay. The 'Rule of 72' states that however many times your interest rate will go into 72, that is how long for the money - if untouched - to double. Say the interest rate is six percent. The Rule tells you that it would take 12 years for the money to double. Harry, the interest rate on these notes is eighteen percent. What does that tell you about the number of times it would double in 14 years?"

Harry did the math in his head quickly. "It would be four and a half, right?"

"Correct. Now, how much would the ten million be worth now?"

"Hmm. Forty Five million?" Harry guessed.

"Come on, Harry, think. The first time it doubles it will be twenty million. How much would it be the second time?"

It was like a light blinked on in his head. "Forty. Third would be eighty, Fourth would be One hundred sixty. Four and a half would be... somewhere around two hundred and forty million?" Harry was gobsmacked as he came to this conclusion.

"It's actually a bit more than that, but that's pretty close. Now, I want to hire the Goblins as the collectors on the debt. They know where all of the assets are and can get to them easily enough. They are well worth the fifteen percent fees they will be charging, just from the ease with which they can get to the accounts. This will be worth in the neighborhood of two hundred twenty million to the Family accounts. That ought to put a serious crimp into the lifestyles of a few of the relatives." Andi grinned.

Harry felt faint. She was tossing around numbers that were staggering like it was child's play. "So... How did it get to be so much? Will it break the Death Eater's backing?"

"Well, it might not break it, but it will put a serious dent in most of their life styles. I know that Narcissa is going to be most upset with you, as will Crabbe, Goyle, and Mulciber. Lucius was the one that was 'gifted' the most, at three million. Crabbe, Goyle, Mulciber, Nott, Rookwood, Avery and Parkinson were each 'gifted' a million.

"Most of them are no longer worth the amount of penalties they will be paying, given that Pure Blood society is very expensive. There are always charitable donations looking for money, Ministry officials to pay off, and of course, minor things like Dark Lords wanting to finance a war.

"Parkinson will have no problems, given the fact that they pretty much kept to themselves after Voldemort bought it in '81, until he returned. Crabbe, Goyle, and Mulciber blew a lot of theirs trying to stay out of prison, and then a series of bad investments prompted upon them by Lucius.

"Lucius will have to probably empty his vaults and lose some of his own investments to repay, but will still be worth a few million. Most of his assets will be tied up in real estate, after this, though. That's not going to be very liquid. Now, he's no longer going to be able to keep Narcissa and Draco in the fashion they wish just on the interest alone. That's not to mention the fact that he is the main money man for Voldemort. It's going to take time, but if the Dark Lord keeps at him for the same amount of payments 'Cissa was bragging about when last I saw her, Lucius will be broke in a few years.

"Nott and Rookwood, I'm not too sure about. They aren't big on the investment side of things, so I don't know how much money they have or how liquid it is. Regardless, twenty five million is not anything to sneeze at when it disappears from their accounts." There was a feral look to her eyes as she said this.

Harry was so glad that he had this particular Slytherin on his side. Something she had said just clicked with him. "Wait a minute. You mean these wankers are using _my money_ to fight me with?"

Andi laughed. "Well, after we get to Gringott's, it will be 'these wankers _were_ using your money to fight you with.' Now you will be using your money to fight_ them_ with."

Harry's eyes gained a gleam much like Andi's as he began to laugh along with her. "Andi, I'm so glad that I had the good sense to put you back in the Family!"

"But of course, Lord Black. After all, Family is everything."

Harry grinned. "Okay, speaking of Family, I heard from my source in Tom's camp. He said he can get Trixie to Castle Urquhart Saturday night at midnight. He says he can make sure she is asleep and alone and portkey her in. I'm not too sure about this guy, nor am I too sure about Trixie herself, so I think we should go in loaded for anything. A sleeping grief stricken girl is one thing. An awake and alert homocidal maniac with a lot of backing is something else entirely.

"If it's a trap, it could get really ugly really fast. I don't think it will be, but I'd rather be as safe as I can. We will need to have a recon of the place this week and then a few planning sessions.

"I've already sent Hedwig off to Adam to let him know about the planned pickup, and I expect we will be hearing back from him shortly. He's at least been to the area, so he's going to have to be more familiar with the place than I am."

Tonks' and Remus' faces drew tight, but Andi's face lit up. She was obviously hoping to get her little sister back. Tonks and Remus were remembering that night in the Department of Mysteries. Harry's thoughts on the matter were mixed between the two. At this point, he couldn't really tell how he felt, other than he knew it was a debt to be paid by The Black, one way or the other.

With the agenda for the day set, and tenative plans for the week roughed in, the morning meeting broke up. As a group, the Blacks Family apperated to the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic.

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The Atrium was not much changed in the past seven weeks since the battle. The battle scars of the fight between Dumbledore and Riddle were still in evidence, however the Fountain was currently closed off behind canvas tarps with a huge sign saying "Under Construction." With all of the people crowding the space, it was easy for Harry to get a look under the tarps. Using one of the few pieces of Parsel magic he had read so far, he charmed the house elf to be giving the finger to the wizard and the centaur into a very lewd position with the witch. One more quick spell and he was done. Satisfied with what he had accomplished, Harry used the last Parsel spell he had read about to seal the statues to the floor of the Atrium. With a snicker, he ducked back out from the tarp. If they wanted it changed now, they'd have to figure out how to rip the floor of the Atrium out. Either that or ask one of the only two known users of Parsel magic in the UK. He didn't really see that happening.

Tonks caught sight of him giggling as he quickly caught up to the rest of the Blacks. "Harry, what did you just do?" She whispered

Trying to hold in his laughter, he quickly whispered back to her, "I'll tell you in the elevator."

Finally, they reached the elevator and set it in motion for the DMLE. Tonks looked at Harry and said, "Okay. Now spill it!"

Harry said "Nothing much, just helped them a bit with their fountain problems."

Tonks turned white. "What did you _do_?"

"I adjusted the 'Magical Brethern' a bit. Now the house elf is giving the wizard the bird while the witch is bent over and being mounted by the centaur." Harry couldn't hold it back any longer. Howls of laughter burst forth from him.

Soon, he got himself back under control. "That wasn't the best part though. The best part is that I used some of Slytherin's Parsel magic to do the transformations and then sealed it to the floor. If they want it out, the whole floor of the Atrium gets pulled out. On the podium they stand on, I carved in 'Sirius Lives!' The best part is that since it's Parsel magic, there's only two people in England that can put it back, and I don't think they will have the guts to ask Tom. I don't think they'll even have the guts to ask _me_."

Ted and Moony snorted, trying to stifle a laugh of their own while Tonks and Andi attempted to look on in shock at the men. Finally, none of them could take it and joined Harry in the laughter.

Tears were running down their faces and the occasional chuckle escaped the group as they reached Madame Bones' office. Tonks took over the lead.

"Lord Potter-Black to see Madame Bones for testimony, Sharon." Tonks told the receptionist.

"Yes, My Lord. The Director had informed me that you would be by this morning. I'll let her know your party is here. Please be seated." Sharon said. With that, she stood up and knocked on the door to the side of her desk and entered.

A few minutes later, she returned. "My Lord, it will be a few more minutes while she retrieves the proper files, and then you will be asked to come in. I hope this is acceptable."

"Yes. That's better service than I had expected, to be honest with you, Sharon." Harry replied.

A few short minutes later, Harry was called in to meet with Amelia. The entire crew came into the office with him.

"Madame Bones."

"Lord Potter-Black. It seems that you have been busy and moved up in the world a bit since I saw you last year."

"Yes, Ma'am. And please, it's Harry. I'm still new at this 'Lord' business. People say 'Lord' and I start looking around for some git like Lucy Malfoy to be standing behind me." Harry replied with a grin.

Amelia smiled. "Okay, Harry. And when we are not in an official meeting for depositions, feel free to call me Amelia. Before we start, I am supposed to pass on a 'Thank you' from Susan. She said you tutored her for her DADA OWL this year, and seems to think that she would never have passed without your help."

"Well, when we only had two decent professors in five years, one of which was a Death Eater in disguise that was trying to kill me, I'll be shocked if any of us pass our DADA OWLs. I just showed a few friends what I had read up on that seemed to work. If it hadn't been for Professor Lupin here, I'd have never made it past third year." Harry replied.

"Ah, yes. The... werewolf." She said, her face showing her distaste.

"The werewolf that taught me that fully corporeal Patronus you were so interested in last year. The werewolf that saved my life and my sanity this year. The werewolf that was the truest friend of my father and godfather. The werewolf that was ostracized, not only from the wizarding community for what he was, but from the wolf community for having the gall to be a wizard on the light side. The werewolf that is no more a dark 'creature' than you would be if you had happened to have a father that pissed off Greyback enough for him to target YOUR FAMILY!" Harry angrily retorted.

Harry calmed himself with his budding occlumency skills as quickly as he could. He could tell by her expression that anger was not going to be enough to sway Madame Bones' opinion. He shifted to fear. His voice returned to a normal pitch. "Tell me, what would you do about Susan if she were bit by Fenrir Greyback? Or even on his orders? You and she are the last of a Noble Family. You're in charge of the Aurors. The people that are supposed to go after people like him. He specializes in children. Did you know that? Don't you think that makes her a target?"

Seeing her ashen face, Harry realized he had made his point. Now, to allow her to save face. "I apologize for my outburst, but it is no more Remus Lupin's fault for being a werewolf than it is your fault or mine for being born into a Noble family. Less, probably, since his father was only standing up for his principles. Few of the Noble Families I have seen are willing to do that. I am striving to honor Sirius's last request that the Blacks will be one of them. I had thought - I had hoped - that the Bones' would be one as well."

Amelia knew he had her. Worse, Amelia knew that Harry knew that he had her. She had no choice but to give in. "Please forgive my prejudices, Harry, Professor Lupin. You are correct. And worse, you have pointed out a security issue that I had not even thought of for my own heir. I am indebted to you. Susan is indeed just the sort of person that would be stalked by one such as Greyback. Too often in my position, I see only the bad side of a species, and have painted most of them with the same brush. My apologies, Remus John Lupin. I will not make that mistake again."

Remus simply said "Apology accepted. Thank you."

Harry said "Sorry. I didn't mean to be rude, and I meant my apology for my outburst, but I have learned that I will not allow people to insult my friends if there is anything I can do about it. May we consider the matter almost dropped?"

"Almost?"

Harry grinned and said "Yeah, almost. Ted, were you serious about that set of wards you had for werewolves yesterday? If so, after you two get done at Flourish and Blott's, you might want to come back here and discuss the protection of the Bones manor."

Ted looked at his Patriarch, grinned evilly and said "Ag."

Harry and Remus both groaned while Ted laughed and the girls looked on blankly. "I'll take that as a 'yes,' then. Madam Bones, after our appointment here, I have to go to Gringotts, while Ted and Remus go to order some books at Flourish and Blotts. My business will likely take longer than theirs, so would you wish to discuss a ward scheme with my Master Curse Breaker during that time? It sounds like he has a good one against just such an occasion as Fenrir being irritated at you."

"Might I ask just what it is?" Amelia asked.

"Well, it's a little set of runes he has that will pretty much let a werewolf halfway across your yard, and then turn the grass into extremely sharp silver blades." Ted explained. "It's hell on the landscaping when it gets set off, but it's just the thing to make Fenrir say 'Ag!' as he expires rather painfully."

The women now understood the inside joke and groaned appreciatively.

"So, what will you be charging for these runes of yours?" Amelia asked.

"Let me answer that in a few minutes. First, I have a four questions for you. The first one is If Fudge came up to you and told you do do something illegal, or if you came across information that he was complicent in a crime, what will you do?"

"Investigate it, and if the charges are real, lock him up and if called for, throw away the key." Amelia said unhesitantly.

"Okay, and if it was Dumbledore?"

"Same answer."

"And if it was The Boy Who Lived?"

"Same answer."

Harry smiled. He could deal with this. "Okay, one last question. Do you have a ward map of your manor? If not, it will take more time for Ted to make sure that his ward doesn't interfere with other wards in place."

"Yes, I do. Please don't tell me an insanely low price, however. It could be construed as bribery."

"That was the furthest thing from my mind, especially after those last four questions, Amelia. I just needed to know where you stood. I can work with you." Harry laughed. "Well, since I don't have any real idea how much this stuff costs, how about I have Professor Ted here give you the price after he looks at the map and the wards? He might give you a price cut by having his student do some of the work, but it'll be between you two on that. Fair enough?"

"That works out well. I will call Susan to bring the map to me after we are done. It will be available when you return, Ted." Amelia agreed.

"Now that our personal business is done with, perhaps we can shift to the official reason for this meeting. Does that suit you, Lord Potter-Black?" Amelia asked.

"Yes, Director Bones. I think that would be an excellent idea." Harry agreed, grinning.

Amelia waved to a deposition quill and parchment on her desk. The quill lifted from the table and was poised to write down everything that was said. "First, why don't we start with your statement from last night..."

The depositions continued from last night's firefight, the near firefight with Kingsley and Jones, to the treatment Harry received from Dolores Umbridge including the justifications of use of a Cruciatus curse on a student and her admission of sending two dementors to Privet Drive last year, to the fight at the Department of Mysteries, to the resurrection of Voldemort, and on to the experiences of Harry's third year. Harry and the others supplied memories of all of the events, and answered any questions Amelia had as she watched them in the solicitor's penseive.

At the end, Amelia asked about the two muggles that were with Harry's group.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you are talking about, Director Bones. There were no non magical people with us last night." Harry replied.

"I have statements from all of the Aurors that there were two other men with you. Neither of whom, according to them, had a wand." Amelia said.

"That is correct, however they _were_ magical, Director. Sir Adam practices wandless magic. Inspector McLeod is a member of the muggle police foce. His use of a firearm is completely legal in keeping with his cover under the Statute of Secrecy. Any other weapon might have violated that Statute. If it had not been for them, the casualties among the Death Eaters would have been much higher. We would have been forced to kill several more if Sir Adam had not tied them up with the winch cable." Harry replied. Harry didn't see the need to inform the Director of the small fact that Noel didn't _have_ a wand.

"Thank you for that clarification, Lord Potter-Black. I understand. Now, why didn't you just stun them? Was it truly necessary to maim and kill them?" Director Bones asked.

"Yes. I learned that in the middle of the Department of Mysteries. If you stun them, their friends just wake them back up. If you're outnumbered, you have to get the numbers down. Sir Adam was successful in tying them up because he didn't use a spell they recognized. 'Finite Incantatum' doesn't work on his version. Just like 'Ennervate' doesn't work on a Reductor." Harry replied.

"I see." Director Bones said. Taking a breath, she continued. "This concludes the depositions of Lord Harry James Potter-Black, Nymphadora Tonks, Andromeda Tonks, Theodore Tonks, and Remus John Lupin."

Harry thanked the Director, and then turned to the next order of business. "Director Bones, I would like to register a complaint agains Aurors Shacklebolt and Jones concerning their actions last night. It was unprofessional and was bordering on attempted kidnapping. I do not think that they should be able to use their positions as Aurors to further any agenda other than the upholding of the law and capture of criminals. At this point, I do not believe I fall under that catagory, so they should simply have taken my statement and left. Instead they attempted to remove me from my family and hold me at the orders of Headmaster Dumbledore. Personally, I was unaware that the Headmaster could wield that sort of power over your department."

"He doesn't," Amelia stated flatly. "Shacklebolt and Jones are being relieved of field duty for the next two weeks. Any Aurors that have ties to the vigilante group known as 'The Order of the Phoenix' will be given one chance to determine their loyalty. If this sort of thing happens again, they will be removed from the force."

"Thank you, Director Bones. Is there anything else?" Harry asked.

"No, not that I know of, Harry." Amelia said with a smile. "I get the feeling that this won't be the last I see of you, however."

"No, ma'am, probably not." Harry said, grinning.

Amelia stood up and showed the group out the door. "Ted, can you be ready to come back here in about an hour? If so, I can have those documents for you to look over."

"Certainly, Amelia. It should be just the right timing. Remus and I will be back here then." Ted replied.

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Brantley was preparing breakfast for Sir Adam as Hedwig flew in the kitchen window. He looked up in surprise as the owl flew into the room and landed on the back of a chair. He'd never had an owl fly in the window. A few sparrows, the occasional robin or jay, but never an owl. No matter. No bird was welcome in the house. Particularly_ his_ kitchen! As he set the burners down low, he carefully moved over to the pantry to pick up the broom. Hedwig saw what he was doing and glared at him. As Brantley reached the broom, Hedwig flew off the chair and into the dining room. Brantley gave chase to the owl all over the lower rooms of the house, swinging his broom and shouting like a madman.

After a narrow miss with the broom in the entryway, Hedwig made her way upstairs, resident madman in hot pursuit. As she flew by the room she knew the recipient of her letter was in, she let out a loud squawk of outrage to add to the cacophony. As Brantley was running by the room, Sir Adam opened the door, causing a collision between Brantley, the door, and himself. Hedwig quickly took advantage of the situation and swooped into the room, alighting on the dressing table chair, with a pleased look in her eye. This yahoo was soo busted. That would teach him to swing a broom at _her_!

As Sir Adam and his butler sorted themselves out, and found there were no broken bones - just a shattered broomstick - Adam calmly asked "Brantley, what on earth is going on?"

"There is an owl in the house, sir." Brantley said with as much dignity as he could muster.

"Oh." Reality struck. "Oh! I'm sorry, Brantley. She has every reason to be in the house. I forgot to mention to you last night that a new client of mine is slightly eccentric and uses an owl to send messages." Adam replied, thinking quickly.

Brantley looked at his employer like he had grown another head for a moment before professionalism kicked in. "Of course, sir. My apologies."

Adam smiled. "None are needed for me, however Hedwig over there is probably a bit upset with you. She is the one you should apologize to."

Brantley's professionalism barely covered for him as the "two headed idiot" look tried to come to the fore. "Of course, sir."

He walked over to the bird and with his mask carefully in place, said "I apologize, madam. I was unaware of your reason for being here and was simply trying to defend the manor and employer."

Hedwig looked at him for a moment, still not trusting the madman that had the gall to chase her with a broom while she was doing her job. Slowly she bobbed her head a couple of times. She took off from the chair and landed on Adam's shoulder, she then stuck out her leg.

Adam fumbled with the tie on the parchment for a moment, before figuring out how it was knotted. Hedwig flew back over to her perch on the back of the chair. Adam went over to his coat from the night before and removed the package of owl treats Harry had given him. Taking a pair of them, he handed one to Brantley before offering the other to Hedwig. "Thank you very much for the letter. I will send a reply back with you, if that is alright."

Hedwig bobbed her head twice. Adam motioned for Brantley to try giving the treat to the bird. Hedwig latched on to Brantley's finger hard enough to draw blood before snatching the treat. Adam had to work to withhold the chuckle that almost escaped his lips. "Well, Brantley. I'd say that while she may have accepted the apology, she's still a bit irritated with you. Why don't you go get her a glass of water from the loo and take care of the cut. Maybe she'll have a change of heart in the meantime."

As Adam unrolled the parchment, he could hear Brantley as he headed to clean and bandage his wound. "...bloody sodding vindictive bird!"

Adam looked over to Hedwig and chuckled. "Okay. It wasn't entirely his fault you know. He was just trying to do his job as he understood it. Your pride was wounded, and his hand was wounded. Will you please accept a truce and not maim my servant again?"

Hedwig cocked her head, thought for a moment and bobbed several times. "Okay. Thank you very much, Hedwig. Brantley should be back in a moment with some water for you. I'm sorry that we don't have better accomodations set up for you here, but you _are_ our first owl." Adam said with a smile.

Adam turned back to the letter.

_Adam,_

_I have heard back from my source in Voldemort's camp. We will pick up Trixie (I hope) Saturday night at midnight. She will be portkeyed to the parking lot of Castle Urquhart at that time, and is supposed to be in a dreamless sleep._

_I would appreciate it if you and Noel would be able to meet up at nine p.m. Saturday night at the house. We will take care of the transportation. I hope there is no need for it, but I plan on expecting a trap as we go in. I'm not too sure of my source in their camp. I know he has his own reasons for this, but I haven't figured them out yet. Common decency is not exactly a reliable trait among these people._

_I hope Saturday's pickup is as simple as we show up, Trixie shows up asleep, and we leave. I am going to be making contingency plans for 1) Trixie shows up awake and upset, 2) Bella shows up awake and insane, 3) Trixie does not show up, but a bunch of Death Eaters do, 4) Bella and the Deez, 5) Voldemort himself showing up extremely irritated. _

_I would appreciate any insight you might bring to the likelyhood of the Fey folk interrupting us, or anything else you might come up with._

_Please let me know if these plans are acceptable._

_Sincerely,_

_Harry_

Sir Adam thought for a moment. Saturday night would work well. Perhaps he could talk Harry into allowing him to stop by earlier in the week to refine the plans, and work out what he could do to help the young man. He was still wondering about what Michael had said last night. What could Harry teach him? Well, maybe he could find that out this week as well. Adam pulled out a sheet of paper from his legal pad and began to write his reply.

_Harry,_

_I agree that we should plan for the worst and hope for the best. As for the Fey folk, if Saturday night goes as we hope, they will never know we were there. If there is a full scale battle going on, it might attract their attention, but if it does, I have no idea what they would do. They might watch, they might join with us, or they might attack everything that moves. They are capricious in the extreme._

_Noel and I should be able to be there, and I may be able to convince Mr. Peregrine to come as well. He is doing some work in that area, and should be available._

_I would like to stop by tomorrow after my rounds to discuss a meeting I had last night after leaving you. It should prove informative. If this will interfere with other plans you have for the evening, please let me know when a better time will be._

_Sincerely,_

_Adam Sinclair_

While he was writing, Brantley had returned from the loo with a small glass of water for Hedwig. He managed to set the water on the dressing table and remove his hand with all fingers intact. Hedwig had looked at him, bobbed her head once, and taken a drink. On reflex, Brantley had said "Will there be anything else, Madame?" Hedwig finished her drink, and rotated her head back and forth.

Shocked, Brantley stumbled back a couple of steps before saying "Very well, Madame. Sir Adam, breakfast will be ready shortly. I apologize for the delay."

Without looking up from his letter, Adam said "Hmm? Oh. That's fine, Brantley. I'll be down as soon as I send this letter off." A very confused Brantley went back down to the kitchen to try to rescue the remains of breakfast.

As he finished the letter, Adam took the third treat and handed it to Hedwig. He carefully tied his letter to her leg when she extended it. "Would you be so kind as to return my reply to Harry, Hedwig?" Sir Adam asked formally. When he received an affirmative reply, Adam stepped over to the window and opened it for the owl. As she was winging her way back to Edinburgh, Adam finished dressing and went down to his breakfast.

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After leaving the Ministry; Harry, Andromeda and Nymphadora went to Gringott's while Remus and Ted headed for Flourish and Blott's.

As they entered Gringott's, Andromeda stepped over to a small line to get to a side window, instead of the teller's rows. As they reached the window, Andromeda informed the goblin that she would like to speak to a goblin named 'Rothag.' The teller asked her to be seated, and Rothag would be there shortly. Ten minutes later, a goblin in black leather approached Andromeda and asked her to follow him. As the three followed, Harry was quickly lost. The Maze in the Triwizard was nothing compared to the wandering sameness of all of the halls behind the bank.

When they finally approached an office, Harry saw it had something scribbled on the door. Having never read Gobbledygook before, Harry had no idea what it meant. He assumed it was something along the lines of "The office of Rothag."

Taking his cue from Andromeda, Harry approached the desk as the goblin went around to be seated. After he was seated, Andi sat in the left chair, Harry the center, and Tonks the right.

"What may the Goblin National Repossession Agency do for you today, Lord Potter-Black, Mrs. Tonks, Miss Tonks?" The goblin asked.

Before Harry could say a word, Andromeda jumped into the conversation. "Lord Potter-Black has some foreclosure business for your agency, Rothag. It appears that we have several outstanding loans that have been in arrears for several years..."

As the conversation continued, other goblins started bringing in account books. Rothag and Andromeda were chattering between themselves fast and furious in what seemed to be a completely different language. The words were familiar, but the context made no sense to Harry or Tonks. Harry caught the words 'points' and 'rates' and 'compounding,' but the only thing pointy were the quills, and he saw no potions equipment around for compounding. They were completely lost. Harry finally adopted what he hoped was a look of concentrated interest in the proceedings and let them verbally slug it out.

"Very well, Mrs. Tonks. It is agreed. The GNRA will acquire these assets and handle the liquidation. The proceeds less our fees will be deposited into the Black Family vault no later than the end of business on Thursday." Rothag said.

"Excellent, Rothag. As always, it has been a pleasure doing business with you." Andromeda said. As she stood up, Harry and Tonks duplicated her small bow. The trio were escorted back to the main lobby.

After they had exited the bank, Andromeda turned to Harry. "Are you alright, dear? You looked a bit constipated in the meeting."

Shocked, Harry said "No, no. I'm fine. Really. I was trying for a look of concentrated interest in what was going on. I guess I failed miserably, huh?"

Andi laughed. "I knew that was what you were trying to do. Really, you shouldn't have bothered. Most Heads don't. They just sit back and play with their consort and let the accounting crew sort it all out. Goblins can't really tell human expressions any better than we can tell theirs."

Tonks looked at her mother and said "What! You mean I missed out on a two hour snog session! Harry, How could you!" She turned and fake pouted at Harry while slapping him on the arm.

"I'm sorry, Nymphadora. No one told me that was what was expected. I'll make it up to you tonight, okay?" Harry said. He then kissed her in the midst of the Alley. The strobing of lights across the inside of his eyelids told him there were reporters in the crowd nearby. For once, he didn't care.

The trio met up with Remus and Ted at the Leaky Cauldron for a quick bite of lunch and to catch up on how their separate missions went.

While they were eating, Andromeda informed Harry that the fees Rothag was going to be charging was sixteen and a quarter percent. She apologized and said she could have gotten it lower, but she knew they were short on time, and wanted to bump their business to the front of the line.

Ted told Harry that tomorrow morning, he was going to be doing some carving. Wednesday morning they would go to Bones Manor and install the runestones. 'Professor Ted' informed his pupil that he had some reading homework to be completed tonight before he could fake being tired and going to bed early with his daughter. Harry blushed when he heard this. He decided it was a good thing that his girlfriend's father liked him.

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After they got back to Edinburgh, Harry read the letter Adam had sent. Wondering what information Adam could have gained overnight, he made sure to clear his schedule for late Tuesday afternoon.

The afternoon's schedule of duelling and dissecting was relaxing for Harry. It allowed him to think about nothing but trying to keep moving while his instructors tried to put him down. At four, Harry grabbed his new book on Mage Sight and went to the treadmill. Tonks showed him how to set the speed, and let him run for an hour. After that, it was weight training for the upper body. At five thirty, a quick shower and in to the hot tub to relax the aches out.

As Harry dressed, he smelled something good from the kitchen. As he came downstairs he saw that dinner was waiting for him. He turned to Andi and said "I thought the deal was I do the cooking and you do the dishes?"

"Well, I thought I'd give you a break tonight, Chef." Andi said with a smile. "I'll still take care of the dishes. Actually, Ted came in from his shower and was complaining about being hungry, so I felt it best to start dinner before he wasted away."

After dinner, Ted, Andi, and Remus left, saying they would return in the morning at nine. Harry worked on his reading homework, practiced his occlumency, and decided he had done enough to, as his professor said, 'fake being tired and going to bed early with his daughter.'

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AN2:All rights to Dr. Adam Sinclair, Noel MacLeod, and Ethan Peregrine are owned by Kathryn Kurtz, Mercedes Lackey, and their publishers. I am just borrowing them for a minor bit part. If you haven't read the Adept series from them, I highly recommend it.

AN3: Sorry for taking so long, but this was an absolutely huge (for me) chapter at 11K+ words. Hope that makes up for it. - JaCee


	21. Boning up, Part 1

Notice: Harry Potter, Tom Riddle, and any other characters you may recognize in this story are the property of JKR and/or whoever had the brains, contacts, and cash (or other negotiable items) to secure the rights to them. Alas, I had the brains, just none of the other stuff.

AN: Sweet Charity (copyright 1969, Shirley MacLaine, John McMartin - Good flick. Gotta rent it some time if you're into the old movies), and Kung Fu (series and movies) and probably all songs and names are owned by someone else. I wasn't old enough to get in on that action, so that's my excuse for not getting the rights to them.

Boning up on a few things, Part 1

The next morning Harry awoke at five o'clock as usual. He went to the kitchen and decided that today he would attempt Belgian Waffles. A couple of the waffles seemed a just bit over done on one side, but still better than any of his attempts at it at the Dursley's. The other pair were perfect. After topping one set with whipped cream and sliced strawberries, he decided on chocolate syrup for the other set of waffles.

When he took them up to Tonks, she was ecstatic. After a bit of messy playing and licking up the mess they had created, they both were. Even more so when they did not run out of hot water during the hour long snogging session in the shower. Harry decided that he liked the live in girlfriend bit. There were definite pluses to be found.

Since Harry knew that Adam would be by that afternoon, he and Tonks went to the workout room to get the exercise for the day out of the way. When Harry's sore upper body muscles protested, he complained to Tonks that he had read some where that it was best to work a set of muscles a day and give that set at least one day off. Tonks informed him that he was not working out to build muscle, he was working out to toughen himself up and build his endurance. "Too much muscle slows you down. Slowing down gets you dead. So kindly shut up and do your reps, Harry," 'Professor' Tonks grinned.

"Ma'am, yes, Ma'am" Harry groaned as he lifted the barbell.

Tonks' response to the cheek was "Very good, Harry! Now, give me another set." Harry just groaned, but wisely kept his mouth shut about Drill Instructor girlfriends.

As Harry was getting out of the shower (alone this time) for the second time of the morning, Andi and Ted walked through the door. When Harry was dressed and down stairs, Ted showed him the rune scheme he would be carving.

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Harry wrote it into his 'bible,' and began carefully tracing the runes on the Dragon bone Ted provided. When he was done with the tracings, he showed it to his teacher. Fully half of the 70 tracings did not meet with Ted's standards. "Wipe these clean and start over. The ones you were doing towards the end were acceptable."

Harry cleaned the bones off and tried again. This time, the runes all passed inspection. "Now, grab your hammer and chisel and begin. You do the power and control runes, I'll get started on the action runes. If your work is acceptable, you will have time to help me finish my set."

"Um, Ted, it's not that I don't know I'm slow, but there are five control runes, and one power rune. The other 64 are action runes. How will you be able to get them done so fast?"

"Oh, that's right. You've never seen a Dremel in action before, have you?"

"No, I've never even heard of a Dremel before. I know you mentioned it the other day, but I was out when you were working with it."

"Oh. Well, you're in for a treat." Ted said, as he pulled out his case.

"Now, This is one of the finest inventions ever invented by muggles for rune work." He said, as he pulled out a short, fat looking device. It was about eight inches long, and about three inches wide. There was a slide gauge marked from 1000 to 20000, and what looked to be a very small, flattened child's top stuck in one end. The top was very gritty and hard.

Harry tried his best to look impressed. He studied the tool very closely, and then looked up at his teacher, grinned, and said "Cool. So, what is it?"

Harry thought Ted looked like someone had just kicked his dog. Finally, Ted regained his temper, sighed and said "Cheeky brat. I'm going to have to tell Nymphadora to tie you up and beat you tonight."

Harry grinned again and said "Sorry Professor, I think she has that planned for Christmas Eve as our present to each other."

Ted threw up his hands, muttering to himself. "Fine. I'll do it myself later. This is a high speed rotary sanding and grinding tool put out by the A.J. Dremel company in the States. The flat top piece is a bit, similar to what your Uncle's company made before they fired him, only it is made to go at extremely high speeds and fits this machine, instead of a regular press or hand drill, which run at a maximum of 500 revolutions per minute. This little baby starts at 1,000 rpm and goes up to 20,000. What a regular drill, grinder or sander does by weight and brute force, this baby does with a small tool at very high speeds. This grinding bit is coated in diamond, and is perfect for working on any bone or stone, except for demonic. Those take magical bits to make any impression at all. Now, if you are finished running your mouth off back to your teacher, I will show you exactly how I will be able to handle at least forty of the runes before you are done with six."

With that, Ted grabbed one of the bones Harry had traced, and turned on the Dremel. "As you can see," Ted said over the high pitched whine that filled the air, "The bit is spinning at 20,000 rpm. Now watch closely, Grass Hopper." As Ted brought the bit into contact with the bone, the pitch of the whine dropped slightly, and a low rumbling noise began to accompany it. Harry watched as Ted carefully followed the outline of the rune tracing on the bone. Within minutes, the rune was permanently carved into the bone. Ted picked up the bone, blew the dust out of the crevices, and inspected it carefully. With a grin, he tossed it to Harry. "Okay, Grass Hopper, That's how I'm going to carve five to six times the number of runes as you are."

Harry caught the rune reflexively and examined it. "Cool. So when can I get one of those?" he asked.

Ted laughed. "Well, Grass Hopper, you may have one of these when you are ready for one of these, and not before."

Harry looked crestfallen for a moment, before asking "Why are you calling me Grass Hopper, Professor?"

Harry caught Ted grumbling something along the lines of "kids these days... no respect for the classics..." before he answered. "Because that is what you are. When you are no longer a Grass Hopper, I will call you something different. Now, the runes will not carve themselves, Grass Hopper." With that, he picked up another bone. Harry just looked even more confused. Just as Ted turned the Dremel back on, Andi walked into the room and threw both of them and their bones outside, citing that the noise was too much for her to concentrate.

As Harry started on his first carving of the power rune, he looked to Ted as he prepared to restart the Dremel. "You know," Harry said. "That was Tonks morphed to look like Andi."

"WHAT! Grrrr! Grass Hopper, you are to tie her up tonight and beat her! That will be your homework!"

"I'm sorry, Professor, but I think that's not on the schedule until Christmas Morning." Harry and Ted both laughed.

Using a hammer and chisel was not nearly as easy as Ted had made it seem the other day when he was showing him how to carve a controller rune. If you hit it too hard, the bone chipped. Too soft, and nothing was accomplished. The runes had to be of uniform depth, and not break through into the marrow. Harry's six runes quickly became twelve before he got the swing of the hammer just right. By the time Harry had gotten one power rune and five controller runes completed to an acceptable standard, Ted had gone through fifty of the action runes. Harry managed to make three of the action runes, while Ted completed the other 61. "Well done, Grass Hopper. We will make a proper curse breaker of you yet." Ted praised as he inspected the nine carved bones Harry had made.

"But..." Harry started, "I only managed to get nine carved out of the 70. You did all of the rest."

"Yes, Grass Hopper, but you see, I was fully prepared to carve all 64 of mine and go to lunch while you continued to work on getting your six completed." Ted laughed.

Harry looked shocked for a moment, and then began to chuckle at the back handed compliment. "So it's lunchtime, is it?"

"Just about, Grass Hopper. Before we break to get cleaned up, come out here in the yard with me for a moment. Bring your power rune."

As they walked, Ted asked "Grass Hopper, Did you do your homework last night?"

"Yes Professor. I read the first three chapters, and then worked on my occlumency. I couldn't very well practice with the Sight inside the house. You said that was a good way to be blinded."

"Yes, it is. At best it would lead to a really nasty headache even if you only tried it for a couple of seconds in there. Ahh. Here we are." They had stopped out in the middle of the yard. Harry couldn't see anything special about the spot. "Grass Hopper, try your Mage sight. Look at the stone in your hand."

Harry closed his eyes, cleared his mind, and slowly opened his eyes to look at the stone. "Professor! It's glowing white! Does that mean it's working?"

"Very good, Grass Hopper. Can you tell me where it is drawing it's power from?"

"Hmm, White means Air." Harry looked up, and sure enough, passing over the spot he was standing in, and directly over the house was a thick white band of light. He pointed to it and ran his finger along it as it passed over the manor. "Right there is the Ley line."

"Good, Grass Hopper. Now, can you see the other Ley lines that power the manor house's wards?"

"Hmm..." Harry began to slowly look around the yard. He walked toward the back shed where he saw a dark green line running along the ground. "Here's a green one. According to the book, that must be a Earth Ley line." He caught sight of a faint blue line on the ground by the back of the property, but it didn't go near the house. "There's a Water line back along the hedges at the property line, but unless there's a power stone in the shed, there's nothing powered by it. It's really faint."

"Very good. That must be an underground stream over there. You're right. There are no water based rune stones in the defenses of the house. Do you happen to see any red ones, Grass Hopper?"

"No, Sir. Just the Earth and Air lines that come to the house. No Fire lines." Harry replied. "If there are any, it's hidden under all these weeds, and I just can't see it."

"No, I was just wanting to make sure that what you found matched up with what my glasses found. You can drop out of the Sight now, Grass Hopper." Ted replied.

"Whew. Thanks. That was work. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to keep it up that long." Harry said.

"Actually, I was very impressed, Harry. Given the fact that you only had it for about five seconds last time, the two minutes you had this time was marvelous. Now, why don't you go get cleaned up and get some essence of Murtlap on those blisters before you eat. I think Tonks and Remus are going to work on your Apparation skills after lunch." Ted said.

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"Thanks, Ted. First I think I will check out the shed. I want to see if there's a mower or something. This would be a nice yard if I got it down to size a bit. If I can find a mower, I'll take care of that before we go to the Bones' tomorrow."

Harry and Ted opened the door to the shed. After getting rid of the boggart that had taken up residence, Harry saw the shed contained an ancient unpowered push mower, several sets of hedge trimmers, four rock rakes and three leaf rakes in varying states of disrepair, three sets of various sized dragon hide gloves, and four sets of what used to be ear muffs before some starving doxies had gotten to them. Now they were simply pieces of curved metal with round circles on the end.

The mower's wheel gears had rusted, making the removal of it a fairly major undertaking. After much swearing, some lubrication charms (which Ted taught to Harry), and several sharpening charms, Ted pronounced the mower as usable as it was going to get.

Harry got behind the handle, and started pushing. He had barely gotten around the shed once when he caught sight of his teacher laughing at him. "What's so funny? It wouldn't be this hard if the weeds weren't up to my waist!"

"I'm sorry, Grass Hopper. I forgot you were raised with muggles, just as I was. Watch." With that, Ted touched between the handles with his wand, and the mower took off.

Harry started muttering goodnaturedly something about "snotty upstart muggleborns" that Ted completely failed to pretend he had missed. He started laughing harder than ever. "I'm sorry, Harry. But you seem to be completely incapable of a proper Pure blood insult. Don't ever change." Harry started laughing as well.

After seeing that the mower had made one complete circuit of the yard and was starting on the second, Harry and Ted found the best of the leaf rakes and the least bad of the rock rakes and touched the handles, sending them in opposite directions. The mower was moving twice as fast as the rakes, so the jobs should be finished at about the same time. The two men left the tools to their jobs and went in to get cleaned up for lunch.

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During lunch, Harry tried once again to find out why Ted was intent on calling him Grass Hopper. Andi and Tonks simply groaned, but Remus took the bait. "Okay, Ted, why ARE you calling Harry Grass Hopper?"

Adopting a hideously fake Chinese accent, Ted answered. "You see, Wolf in Cheap Clothing, if young Grass Hopper may call us by names other than our own, we should be able to call him by something other than his given name."

Andi had had enough. "Theodore Alexander Tonks. Stop that stupid David Caradine impression at once! You can call Harry whatever you wish when you're his teacher, but right now he is your Patriarch. And don't even THINK about using one of your damned tattoo runes on him with a grass hopper on it!"

"But he'll learn how to change it before he gets out of the apprentice stage!" Ted whined at his wife.

"NO! I AM PUTTING MY FOOT DOWN!"

"But-"

"NO!"

"How-"

"NO. And if you try to talk me out of it again you'll be sleeping on the couch!"

"Yes, Dear." Ted sighed. "Damned woman never lets me have any fun. Humph!" He muttered just loud enough for Harry and Remus to catch as he looked down at the table.

Andi decided to give in slightly. 'Throw him a bone,' so to speak. "If the patriarch is willing, you may make a rune with a grasshopper on it and put it on a chain around his neck. Tonks can make it an emergency portkey back to here. But that's as far as I'll allow, and you have to ask Harry."

"Harry, please? I can make it so that it changes into different animals as you get better. Pretty please?" Ted asked, failing miserably at making puppy dog eyes at his Patriarch.

Harry couldn't help but laugh. He really wouldn't have minded the tattoo, especially if after he found out how to change it. But Andi was right. Tats on a Patriarch smacked too much of Voldie and his thugs. An emergency portkey disguised as a necklace charm wouldn't be a bad idea, though. If he managed to get separated from his body guards, it could easily save his life. "Alright, Ted. You can make the rune stone for the necklace, and after we get done that the Bones' tomorrow, we'll pick up a chain for it."

Ted smiled. "Thank you, My Lord."

Harry looked at Ted and grinned. "I think I preferred Grass Hopper."

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After lunch, Remus and Tonks attempted to explain the three 'D's' to Harry. Destination, Deliberation, and Determination. Harry tried to apparate for an hour. He knew his Destination. It was across the training room. He thought he was very deliberate about it, and he knew that he really wanted to be there. Nothing happened. Harry tried to remember again what the three D's were. Divination, Desperation, Disassociation? Damn Dumbledore the Dodo? Dramatic deranged dismemberment? Ah! Perhaps Deliberate Dumbledore dismemberment? It was no good. He was stuck right where he was.

When he voiced his complaints to Remus and Tonks, Remus explained that apparating was perhaps the only piece of wandless magic that people would do. "You see, Harry. The Ministry teachers came up with the 'three D's' explanation so people could easily remember it. What it all comes down to, is you. All wandless magic is basically the same. You have intent, willpower, and magical ability. Intent is the destination. You need to see yourself at that place. Willpower is what they call determination. You have to really WANT to be there. The last thing it boils down to is your power. You have to get in touch with your magic and it will get you from where you are to where you want to be. They call it deliberation, but I think that was just to be able to sell it to the masses."

Half an hour later, Harry was so frustrated he was ready to spit nails. If someone like 'Dung Fletcher could do it, he SURELY could! Seeing this, Tonks decided it was time for drastic measures. This was going to hurt, but if it made Harry happy, she'd gladly do it.

Turning to Remus, she said "Moony. Leave. You won't want to be around for this next bit. Seal the door on your way out."

"Why?" Remus asked. "What are you planning on doing?"

"Just leave. You know what it's like when I change bone structure, and I know you hate being around it, since it reminds you of your little problem. So, I'm asking you nicely to leave." Tonks replied.

Remus still had no idea what Tonks was planning, but she was right. She was the most accomplished Metamorph he'd ever seen, but the only way to change bone structure was to break it and reshape it. She had to be planning on a complete body change, but why? When he asked, all she would say was that it was to help Harry, and to trust her.

Remus got up and left the training room. Tonks reached into her purse and grabbed a pain potion. She knew she was going to need it in a few minutes. Tonks sealed the room from the inside, came over to Harry and conjured him up a chair. "Take a break, Harry. I have something planned that should get you into the right frame for it, okay? It's going to take a few minutes for me to set up, but it'll be worth it, I promise."

After Harry had a seat, Tonks relieved Harry of his wand and conjured up a Lexan box around him, from ceiling to floor, two inches thick. She cast a silencing spell on the box and shut off the lights in the room. A quick Lumos spell showed her her way back to the back of the training room. On her way back, she transfigured her jeans and t-shirt into a pair of fishnet stockings and a garter belt, and her Doc Martens into a pair of six inch stilletto heels, leaving her in only her robe and a tiny translucent g-string. She then began to conjure up a stage and magical instruments behind the hot tub and weight bench. She quickly had a complete blues band, heavy on the brass.

"Now for the hard part," she muttered to herself. Just to be certain, she cast a silencing spell on herself. She knew she would scream with the changes. A series pops and cracks were all that was heard. In the end, she had changed from her normal five foot, four inch frame to a towering (for her) five foot, eight inches. The heels put her well over six feet. Gone were her dainty 32B breasts. In their place were a pair of massive 36DD's. Her waist was a ridiculously tiny 20 inches. Her hair was a strawberry blond and reached the middle of her back. Her normally hairless sex now sported a "landing strip" cut. 'In short,' she grinned as she thought to herself, 'this would jump-start an eight year old into puberty.' She downed the pain potion, and shuddered at the vile taste. After a quick drink of juice to clear the taste, she made her way back to Harry's seat. As she stood outside the box, she cancelled the silencing charms.

"Harry, honey," She said in her most seductive voice. "If you can catch me, you can _have_ me."

She quickly made her way back to the stage. A wave of her wand created a spotlight and the instruments began to play.

All Harry could see was Tonks standing on a stage with her back to him, looking at him over her bared shoulder, with her robe being held to her breast with her left hand. On cue, she swung around, pointed at him and began singing.

"As soon as you walked in the joint...  
I could tell you were a man of distinction, a real go getter!"

What followed was a performance of "Hey Big Spender" that would have had Shirley MacLaine green with envy, and John McMartin exploding in his pants. It was the most erotic thing Harry had ever seen.

That is, right up until the very end, where the drastic changes in her center of gravity, and Tonks' natural clumsiness came into play. Just as she was singing "Hey Big Spender, pay a little time with meeeEEEEK!" she fell off the stage, striking her head on the weights. She slid bonelessly into the hot tub.

"TONKS!" Harry beat on the glass, to no avail.

"**_TONKS!_**"

At that moment a massive explosion rocked the house to its foundations.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

AN: I know, it's a cliff hanger. I don't do them often, but this was just a perfect place to put one in.

AN2:All rights to Dr. Adam Sinclair, Noel MacLeod, and Ethan Peregrine are owned by Kathryn Kurtz, Mercedes Lackey, and their publishers. I am just borrowing them for a minor bit part. If you haven't read the Adept series from them, I highly recommend it.


	22. Boning up, Part 2

Notice: Harry Potter, Tom Riddle, and any other characters you may recognize in this story are the property of JKR and/or whoever had the brains, contacts, and cash (or other negotiable items) to secure the rights to them. Alas, I had the brains, just none of the other stuff.

AN: What can I say, it got away from me. On the plus side, I'm up to 100K words plus now.

Boning up on a few things, Part 2

"_**TONKS!**_"

At that moment an explosion rocked the house to its very foundation.

There was a second explosion coming on the heels of the first and accompanied by the complete destruction of the hot tub. Harry was in what was left of the tub, holding an unconscious and unbreathing Tonks. Remembering something he had snuck down to watch on the telly, Harry picked the girl up and put her up on her stage on her stomach. Quickly getting in position behind her, Harry began pushing down on her back, just under her ribs. As he did so, water came from Tonks' mouth. Harry continued to do this until no more water came out, and rolled her over. Just as he was doing this, Andi, Ted, and Remus managed to break the wards securing the doors and came running into the room. "What happened! We heard something and..." they stopped as they saw Harry attempting to perform CPR on Tonks.

As Harry was pressing on Tonks' sternum, he was chanting "You're not going to die. You're NOT going to die. You're NOT going to DIE!" There followed another explosion of magic, knocking Harry back across the training room and into the wall. He landed in a crumpled heap. Remus had a flashback to earlier in the month when Vernon Dursley was similarly slammed into the house next door and ran to Harry while Andi and Ted went to check over their daughter, who now seemed to be coughing and breathing on her own.

Remus checked Harry over, and was satisfied that there didn't seem to be any obvious broken bones, but he'd be sore for a while. He snapped a wake up capsule under Harry's nose. Harry began to stir and shoved the capsule away from him. Remus banished it and asked Harry if he was alright.

"You'd be amazed what you can live through." Harry groaned. Suddenly, he looked panicked, looked at Remus and tried to stand up. "Tonks? Is she okay?"

Remus put his hands on Harry's shoulders to keep him still and looked back over to the stage. "Easy, cub. Easy. Andi and Ted are with her and she's sitting up. I think she's doing better than you are right now. So what happened?"

"Erm. She put me in a box, took away my wand and did a dance. She told me if I could get to her I could have her and did the most incredible strip tease I ever even heard of. It was... It was great right up until the point she fell. I panicked when I couldn't get to her, and suddenly I was holding her and she wasn't breathing. I had seen a show on the telly and it had some guy pushing on this other guy's chest to get him breathing again so I tried that. Next thing I know you're waking me up over here. Can you fill me in on that?"

"Well, cub. We were downstairs, and heard this massive explosion. We came up here, and had to break down the wards and the door. We saw you kneeling over Tonks, and as we were coming up to the stage, you went flying past and slammed into the wall. I'd say you did something right, since she's breathing again." Remus replied.

"Help me up. I've got to see about her." Harry said.

"I don't think that's-" Remus started to say. Harry's face grew clouded and there was another massive double explosion.

Harry was gone. Remus jumped up and turned around and saw him on the stage, next to Tonks, his arms around her.

As he got over there, he could hear Andi talking quietly to her daughter. "You know, dear, being adventurous is a fine thing, but next time, please make the stage a bit larger and keep it away from the hot tub."

Remus hid his smile. 'Evidently,' he thought to himself, 'Tonks was going to be alright.'

"Now," Andi said. "You two, up to bed, and rest! No playing, no magic, just sleep."

"I can't." Harry said. "Sir Adam is coming over in a few hours. We're going to go over something important he found out last night. He didn't tell me what it was in the letter."

"Then I'll wake you up when he gets here, Harry. Now, both of you get up to bed. And Nymphadora dear, your punishment for being this silly and nearly getting yourself killed is that you have to stay in that form until tomorrow. I'm not going to have you breaking your bones again this soon after all this mess. Do you understand me, young lady?"

Tonks sighed. "Yes mum."

The pair were helped up by Ted, Andi, and Remus. Andi, in full mothering mode; then led them back upstairs to bed. "And you will stay there until I come back. Do you hear me, you two?"

"Yes, mum." They replied in unison. Harry grinned at the thought of being able to call Andi 'mum.'

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

As they were lying in bed together, Tonks rolled over to Harry and kissed him on the cheek, saying "Thanks for saving my life, Harry."

"What? I didn't do anything. I was the reason you got hurt." Harry replied.

"No. The reason I got hurt was because I haven't been this tall in four years, and I've never been this... well endowed. I made a stupid mistake and killed myself. You saved me." Tonks said.

"You were doing it to help me. I couldn't let you get hurt because of that." Harry said. Then exactly what she had said hit him. "What do you mean 'killed myself?'"

"I was dead, Harry. I died, bright light, out of the body experience, all that good stuff. You brought me back somehow." Tonks said.

Harry began to shake uncontrollably. Tonks grabbed him and held him tight. "Harry?" Tonks said.

"Yeah?"

"Um... I saw Sirius and your parents. I spoke to them. They said for me to tell you that they're proud of you and that they love you." She said, tears streaming down her cheeks as she held him tightly.

Harry clung to her tightly as tears were welling up in his own eyes. Strangely enough, they weren't tears of grief. He knew that Sirius was happier with his Mum and Dad than he ever would have been locked in Grimmauld Place. They were tears of joy. He always knew that his parents loved him, and hoped that they would have been proud of him, but this was like a confirmation. He WAS loved. This gave him the courage to say something he had been scared to say before. "Nymphadora Julietta Tonks, I love you."

Tonks was stunned. Harry. HER HARRY. Had just told her that he loved her. Her heart soared.

Harry evidently mistaken her lack of speech as a rejection, as he tried to get away from her, saying "Never mind. I was just being stupid..."

Tonks grabbed and held him as tightly as she could. "And just where do you think you're going, Mister? I'm sorry that I didn't say anything just now, I was too shocked. I do love you, Harry, and I've loved you for a long time. I just didn't think you felt that way about me."

Relieved, Harry chuckled a little. "No, you should ask your father about it some time. I let it slip and told him that I loved you when he was giving me the 'rip your testicles off' speech. I didn't even realize it at the time until I said it. Now, we'd better get some sleep or Mum will have both of our backsides tanned when she comes in and checks on us in a few minutes." Harry grinned.

Tonks grinned back, and kissed him lightly on the lips. "I love you, Lord Harry James Black-Potter." She giggled. "That's fun to say."

"Not nearly as much fun as saying 'I Love you, Nymphadora Julietta Tonks.'" Harry disagreed and kissed her lightly back, before snuggling up against her and closing his eyes.

As Harry was drifting off to sleep, he barely heard the door open. 'Yup. Andi is checking up on us.' That was the last he knew.

Andromeda Tonks opened the door to check on her daughter and Patriarch. She saw the tears on her daughter's face and became concerned. "Is everything all right, Nymphadora?" She whispered.

"Yes, Mum. He loves me." Tonks said, turning towards her and smiling.

"Of course he does, dear. I could tell that the first time you brought him to the house. If Ted couldn't scare him, nothing would." Andromeda said.

"But he just told me." Tonks said.

"Baby, I'm so happy for you, dear. Now be good and get some sleep."

"Yes, Mum. Love you."

"I love you too, Nymphadora," Andromeda said as she leaned down and kissed both of what she considered to be her children on the forehead. "Now, sleep."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The next thing Harry knew, he was being shaken lightly and hearing Andromeda say "Harry, dear. It's time to get up. Sir Adam will be here shortly."

Harry carefully extracted himself from Tonks' grip and tucked the covers back around the sleeping girl. "Thank you, Andi. I really needed that nap." Harry said.

"I know you did, dear. Now get dressed and come down for some tea. By the way, I love the quidditch boxers. I'm sure Nymphadora enjoys trying to catch your snitch." She said with a smile.

Harry blushed and covered himself as best he could. "Err. Yes, Ma'am. If you will excuse me, I'll be down in a few minutes."

Harry grabbed a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, his trainers and his wand. He was quickly downstairs, and seated at the table. He grabbed a sandwich and a cup of tea. Remus was there, and began the conversation. "So Harry, one good thing came from the afternoon. You apparated on your own twice now, and still have all of your body parts."

"Well, I guess that's one way to look at it." Harry said.

"Well, Harry" Remus chuckled, "I had to come up with SOMETHING good for the afternoon. After all, its not every day that you rattle the windows in a one mile area, destroy a training room and then flood it, get the cops called on us, your teacher breaks most of the bones in her body, and then nearly dies in a dance routine."

"What do you mean about Tonks breaking most of the bones in her body?" Harry asked.

"That's one of the reasons she asked me to leave." Remus said. "The only way someone can change their basic form like that is to break the bones and regrow them together. It's like what happens to me every month. You've had the... pleasure... to see what that is like for me. I also knew she was going to do something a bit exotic, but the main reason she wanted me out that soon was to spare me the sympathy pains."

"She did that for me?" Harry asked, his voice full of wonder.

Andromeda spoke up. "Of course, Harry dear. She loves you and wanted to help you. It sounds like it would have worked, too, except the stage wasn't quite the right size."

"Oh, Remus?" Harry said. "You were wrong. According to Nymphadora, she actually DID die. She said she saw Sirius and my parents."

"What?" Andromeda shrieked. "My baby DIED?"

"Yeah. She thinks she did, anyway. All I know is that she wasn't breathing when I got to her. Since we weren't exactly in the same place at the same time, I couldn't tell you for sure. She also swears that I brought her back. And that Sirius, Mum and Dad said to tell me they were proud of me and loved me."

"Of course they are, Harry. They have every reason to be proud of their son." Remus said with a huge smile. "Just like I'm proud of you and love you."

"Thanks, Remus. That means a lot to me." Harry said.

Ted looked at Harry with a grave look on his face. "Harry, our family owes you-"

"Stop it right there, Ted." Harry said firmly.

"You're forgetting several things." He continued, his voice as gentle as possible when he saw the stricken looks on Ted and Andi's faces. "The first is that we're ALL family. There are no debts between us. The second is that Tonks has saved my life several times before this. Even if Vernon, Voldemort and the death eaters weren't smart enough to be able to kill me and make it stick, I would be willing to bet that I could find a way around that damned prophecy and do it myself. I was THAT close to trying it when she came into my life." Harry held his thumb and forefinger less than a quarter inch apart. "That close. The third is that I swore to you I'd never let anything happen to her if I could prevent it. Nothing has changed since I swore that. I may have stumbled when I told you that I love her, but it's still true. So, please, can we drop it? I feel bad enough about her being hurt as it is."

"Alright, Harry. If that is the way you wish it to be." Ted said.

"It is. Thank you." Harry replied.

Seeing that Harry was desperate to change the subject, Remus asked "Now, shall we critique your apparating practice today while we are waiting on Sir Adam?"

"What do you mean, critiquing my practice? I didn't do anything." Harry said.

"Harry, how exactly do you think you got to Tonks those two times?" Remus asked.

"Uh, I dunno. I just knew I needed to be there and I was there."

"Harry, you apparated. Of course, instead of sounding like a finger snap, it sounded like the IRA was holding a convention in the house; but you apparated." Remus said.

"That's funny. It didn't feel like I was being sucked through a straw like it does when I side along with you guys." Harry said.

"Really? That's strange." Ted said. "That's how it's always felt for me and everybody else I know."

"Hmm." Remus said. "We'll have to study that at a different time. Maybe you're doing something that is completely different that we just aren't aware of. Regardless, let's call it apparation for right now, because it's likely to handle about the same."

"Okay." Harry said. He was rather confused, because 'apparating' was what he had wanted to happen, but if Remus said it wasn't, maybe it wasn't.

"Good, cub. Now, you managed to apparate twice today without splinching yourself. That's very good for a first timer. Usually it takes days before anybody even manages to get themselves splinched. The biggest thing I can come up with is that you're forcing too much magic into the process. That overdose of magic is what creates the noise."

"Okay," Harry said. "Now, what can I do about it?"

"Well, that's the good part. Now that you know you can do it, it's just practice. Take it slow and easy and step down your magic. You'll get the feel of it before long." Remus said.

"Okay, so are we going to work on that tomorrow after we get back from Bones Manor?" Harry asked.

"Probably." Remus replied. "We'll have to see how long you're at the Bones' to be sure, but I think it's a safe bet. I'll just have to add some sound proofing and structural wards to the training room while you three are gone."

"Us three?" Harry asked. "Aren't you go- Erm. Sorry, Remus. I forgot. You already know that I don't think of you and Fenrir as the same species. Of course you aren't going to want to be going there for this. So who is going to be going? Me, Ted, and who?"

"Nymphadora. She said she knew Susan from last year. I thought this would be a good time for her to catch up with her." Ted said.

"Oh, Okay. That will be fun." Harry said.

Just at that moment, there was a knock on the door.

"That must be Sir Adam." Harry said. Seeing that Andi was starting to get up, he continued. "Don't worry about it, Andi. I'll get the door and show him in here." With that, Harry left to answer the door.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Adam's day at the hospital had been pretty routine, up until about three hours ago. He received a call from Noel MacLeod, saying that there had been an explosion in the area of the Black Manor. Noel said that when he heard the call over the radio he'd volunteered to check it out. He had been worried some of the goons from the other night had tracked Harry down. After interviewing the neighbors, Noel stopped by the Black Manor to find out if everything was okay. He was a bit shocked to see the destruction in the training room, but was relieved to find out that Harry and Tonks were alright. On his way back to the office he had called Adam. He told Adam that he planned to write up the report as an American F-16 squadron buzzing the neighborhood at Mach 2. It happened often enough that the diplomatic corps had given up on attempting to chastise the hot headed fighter jocks.

Now, Adam was standing on the front porch of the Manor. He was pleased to see that the overgrown lawn was looking much better, however there were still some spots around the yard that needed to be dealt with. It looked like whoever had mowed the yard circled wide around certain plants, and that there was actually a few raised flower beds scattered about the place as well. The hedges still needed some serious work, though. Remembering what Ted had mentioned about some rather gruesome wards set to the door bell, Adam simply knocked on the door to announce himself.

Adam was pleased to see that Harry answered the door, and didn't look too much worse for wear from what had evidently been a rather trying afternoon. "Good Evening, Harry. Noel told me that you had some rather interesting experiences today," Adam said.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Harry answered the door and it was, in fact, Adam. Adam started the conversation with "Good Evening, Harry. Noel told me that you had some rather interesting experiences today."

It was at this point that Harry remembered that Remus had said that the police had been called about what was now being referred to as 'the training accident.'

"Come in, Sir Adam. Was it Noel that came by? Andi put Tonks and I to bed and I've been trying to catch up on what all happened while I was out of it."

Adam entered, and they made their way back to the kitchen where Andi, Tonks, and Remus were still seated. "We were just up to the point of finding out what exactly happened to the training room when you knocked, Adam. Would you like to go with me to see what kind of damage I can do when I screw things up?"

As they all entered the training room, Harry and Adam were shocked at the destruction. Shards of wood from the chair and pieces of Plexiglas were scattered all over the floor. Some of them were embedded into the stone walls. The floor was still covered in an inch of water. The weight bench was now a twisted and mangled piece of junk at the far corner. The instruments that had been up on the stage were in even worse condition in and embedded in the far wall. The soft sided hot tub had evidently exploded. There were bits and pieces of it all over the floor. About the only thing that had survived intact were the dumbbells and weights, as they were cast iron. Harry calmed his mind and closed his eyes. A quick look about the room with his mage sight told Harry that most of the wards that were supposed to absorb the damage of missed spells were destroyed.

Harry groaned. Even with magic and all of them helping, it was going to take forever to get the room back into usable shape. "Ted, have you looked at the wards in here since all this happened?" Harry asked.

"No," Ted replied, putting his glasses on. After a moment, he took them off and handed them to Remus for a look. Remus passed them to Andi. "I've been busy trying to find make sure the rest of the wards for the house are intact. It looks like you broke rule number one in here, though."

"Yeah, that's what I thought you were going to say."

"Look on the bright side, Harry" Ted said with an evil glint in his eye. "You just re-earned your first nickname. You are now The Boy-Who-Lived-Through-A-Cascading-Ward-Failure!" He laughed.

Harry groaned. Ted's sense of humor was going to be the death of him. Just then there was a -Pop- and a very pissed off looking house elf garbed in orange and pink, hand knitted ear cozies, a brilliant blue knitted hat, a Hawaiian print shirt, eight pairs of mismatched socks, and hunter orange and royal purple striped lederhosen stood in front of the group. "HARRY POTTER! HOW DARE YOU NOT TELL DOBBY THAT YOU HAVE HOUSES AND NEEDED AN ELF! Dobby had to hear it from Winky who heard it from Troy who heard it from Angie who heard it from Enid who heard it from her Missy Abbott that was talking to Missy Bones about you in the floo!"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Harry groaned again. Evidently the house elf gossip network functioned faster than the speed of light. He got down on one knee to be able to look the disgruntled elf in the eye. "Dobby, I'm sorry. I thought you were happy at Hogwarts. You certainly seemed happy there when we were talking this year."

"Dobby was happy at Hogwarts. Hogwarts was where Dobby's Great Wizard Harry Potter was at. Of course Dobby was happy then. Dobby got to cook and clean for Harry Potter and help Harry Potter find the come and go room. Now Harry Potter is not at Hogwarts, and has his houses and he did not call his Dobby to make him his house elf. This makes Dobby very UNHAPPY with his Great Wizard Harry Potter."

"I'm really sorry, Dobby. It's just that things have been so screwed up the past few weeks that I didn't even think about needing a house elf. Heck, I still have places that I haven't seen in THIS house, and it's not even mine! It's Tonks' house, and I'm just borrowing it. Well, that and destroying her training room, really. I know I own Grimmauld Place, but I can't go there right now because of Dumbledore and the Order, and I've got the Potter place up at Inverness that I haven't even seen yet, so I don't know if I need an elf there or not, and..."

"Dobby understands. The Great Wizard Harry Potter does not want Dobby." Dobby began to sniffle.

"What? NO! That's not what the Gre..." Argh. Dobby's speech mannerisms were starting to get to Harry. Taking a breath, he tried again. "No, Dobby. That's not what I meant. I just meant that I've been so busy that it completely slipped my mind that you might want to be my house elf. I just thought you were happy working for Hogwarts, and I didn't want to bother you with my little problems."

"The Great Wizard Harry Potter does not have little problems," Dobby said as he looked around the room. "It looks to Dobby like The Great Wizard Harry Potter has big problems that need cleaning up. Unless this room is SUPPOSED TO look like the come and go room where everyone hides things that go wrong. Dobby is sorry, Great Wizard Harry Potter!" He ran over and picked up a twenty pound dumbbell and began bashing himself over the head with it. Harry grabbed the little elf after the first swing. "Dobby! You are a free elf. You have no reason for punishing yourself for telling the truth. I guess the truth is that I could break a crowbar in a sandbox. If I hire you, can you clean this place up?"

Dobby's smile lit up the room. "Dobby has three galleons, six sickles and eight knuts. Will that be enough for the Great Harry Potter to hire Dobby? Dobby wants no days off and to clean all of Harry Potter's houses."

"What?" Harry asked, confused. "No, Dobby. I will pay YOU, not the other way around. Now, how much was the Headmaster paying you at Hogwarts? And what were your days off there?"

"Dobby was paid one galleon, two sickles a month at Hogwarts, Great Harry Potter Sir. The Headmaster tried to pay him five galleons a month, but Dobby talked him down from it. The Headmaster made Dobby take two days off each month. But Dobby worked around that. The week before Dobby's days off, Dobby worked day and night to make up for it." Dobby said proudly.

"Okay, Dobby. I'll match what you made at Hogwarts, but you have a day off a week. You can do whatever you want on that day. If you want to go to Hogwarts and see your friends there, you can do that. If you want to stay here and relax in the hot tub after we get a new one put back in, you can do that. If you want to clean up the place, you can do that too. But only because you WANT to do it, not because you have to. Understand?"

"Yes, Harry Potter Sir. Dobby understands." Dobby said, looking a bit glum about the fact that he would have a day off a week. "Dobby will do this if Harry Potter Sir wants it. Dobby does want to ask one small favor of Harry Potter Sir, though."

Harry, thinking that he had finally gotten the little elf calmed down, was happy. "What's that, Dobby?"

"Will Harry Potter Sir bond with Winky? She is still not off the Butterbeer, and her health is going rapidly. She is not made to be a free elf. When Mr. Crouch gave her clothes, it broke her. The only way she can be fixed is if she is bonded to another master or mistress."

Harry thought for a minute. 'If Hermione knew about this, she'd kill him.' he thought. This was quickly followed by 'Well, it's not like she even cares what I'm doing right now. She hasn't even sent an owl to me since we got out of school. Her and Ron and Ginny must still be pissed off that I nearly got them killed.'

"Dobby, I need to think for a few minutes, okay?" Harry said, trying to stall for time.

"Yes, Harry Potter sir." Dobby said.

Harry ignored that and began wandering around the room. He wasn't looking at where he was going, but strangely, he wasn't running into anything. 'Well, Hermione's reactions aside. I doubt that anyone else will care. Besides, it's not as if I don't already have the weight of the wizarding world on my shoulders. What more trouble will an alcoholic house elf bring? Winky had really gotten the shaft when Bartemius Crouch gave her the clothes. And if she gets off the butterbeer and it makes her and Dobby happy, who cares? Dobby has helped me in the past. Some of his more energetic help almost got me killed, but hey, at least he was trying. And according to Dobby, she'll die if she doesn't get bonded.' That was it. That was the trump card right there. Nothing else mattered to Harry. Bugger what Hermione thought of him. Bugger Ron if he thought he was showing off his money again. Bugger all of his supposed friends. He had a chance to save some one, and all it would cost him was fact that he would have to have a couple of house elves.

Harry stopped. He was at the far end of the training room. He looked back to where the rest of the group was waiting for him by the stage. All of the Plexiglas and the water and everything else was cleaned up. "Dobby." Harry called.

"Yes, Master Harry Potter sir?" Dobby asked.

"Please, Dobby. Don't call me that. I'm just Harry. I'm no body's master, and I don't want to be. I will bond with Winky, though. But there are going to be conditions. Could you bring her to me, please?" Harry asked.

-Pop- Dobby was gone. -Pop Pop- Dobby had returned with a bedraggled looking Winky, still clad in the same dress that Mr. Crouch had given her years ago. She was looking very bleary eyed, but at least not falling down drunk at the moment. "Dobby has cast a house elf sobering charm on Winky for the moment, Mas- Harry sir. It will wear off in a few hours if she goes back to drinking." Dobby said.

"Winky?"

"Yes, Harry Potter sir?" Winky mumbled.

"Would you like to be bonded to the Black Family?" Harry asked.

"Why would the Black Family want a disgraced house elf like Winky, Harry Potter sir? Winky failed her last master so bad that he... he gave... HE GAVE HER CLOTHES!!" Winky started crying hysterically.

"Winky, Stop!" Harry said firmly, hoping that his tone would get through to the hysterical little elf.

Apparently, it worked. "Yes, Harry Potter sir?" She hiccoughed.

"I was there when Mister Crouch gave you that dress. You did nothing to deserve it. Barty Junior got away from you because Bartemius messed up. Not you. Giving you clothes was the only way he could keep himself out of Azkaban. If it got out that he had helped his son out of prison, they both would have gone back to it." Harry said.

"He may not have wanted to have to give them to you at all," Harry tried to reason with the elf gently. "He just didn't want to go to prison more than he wanted to spare your feelings. Did you ever think of that, Winky?"

"No, Harry Potter sir." She sniffed. "Do you really think that?"

"To be honest, Winky," Harry told her "I really don't know. I do know that Mr. Crouch Senior was keeping Barty under the Imperious Curse to stay home. Barty Junior broke the curse and escaped from you. That was Mr. Crouch's fault. You couldn't have placed the curse on Barty Junior, could you?"

"No, Harry Potter sir." Winky said, her eyes widening. "That's Wizard type magic. Winky can't do Wizard type magic."

"Okay. He knew it was his son that had cast the Mark that night. He also knew that you were trying to find Barty Junior and that you had found the wand he had used. If all of this had gotten out, he would have at least been sent to Azkaban, or else kissed by a Dementor himself. So he HAD to make it look to the others like you had done it."

"Winky never thought of it like that before, Harry Potter sir." Winky said. "So I isn't a disgraced house elf?"

"No, Winky. You had a disgraced owner that shifted it off to you." Harry said. "Now, would you like to become a Black Family house elf?"

"Will Winky have to wear clothes?" Winky asked.

"Um. How about you wear an official Black Family House Elf Uniform? That way it's not really clothes, and you can have the protections that clothes can provide a person." Harry countered.

"Well, Okay. Winky will consent to a uniform." Winky said.

"Will Dobby have a uniform too?" Dobby asked.

This was starting to come too fast and furious for Harry. He hoped he didn't end up doing something he regretted later. "Um. Yes, Dobby. On the days you are working, you will have a uniform. When you are on your days off, you can wear whatever you like. Okay?"

"Yes, Harry sir. Thank you Harry sir!" Dobby beamed.

"Now, Winky. How do I bond with you? I've never done this before." Harry said, turning back to Winky.

"Oh. Is easy." Winky said. "All you have to do is agree when I say my oath."

Harry was troubled by that. "No. If I accept your oath, then you will have to accept mine."

"What? Winky can not do that! She is a house elf. Masters do not give oaths to House elves. They gives orders. House elves do them. That is the way it is."

"If you can't accept an oath from me, you won't be able to be bonded to me, Winky." Harry said sadly. "You see, my oath is going to be that as your Wizard, I will care for you and take care of you and defend you against anyone unless you have intentionally betray the family honor. If you make a mistake, you will not punish yourself. You will come to me and we will come up with an adequate punishment together, AFTER we fix the mistake. The only reason you will be given clothes is if we both decide that you have intended to betray my Family."

"Winky would never do that! Winky is a good house elf." Winky said, horrified at the thought of intentionally betraying her master's family.

Dobby started dancing around the two. After he completed two circuits, he said "Mas- Er... Harry sir? Dobby has the answer to the problem between you and Winky. A house elf cannot accept the oath of a Wizard. But a FREE Elf could accept it, and then that elf could bond itself to the wizard's family, and both oaths would still be in effect!"

"Well, Winky?" Harry smiled. "It's up to you. Will you accept my oath and then bind yourself to me?"

"You would give an elf your wizard's oath?" Winky looked at Harry shyly. At Harry's nod, she grabbed his leg and said "Yes! yes yes yes yes yes. Winky will make you proud to own her!"

After Harry had pried the overexcited house elf off his leg, He got down on his knees and gave his wizards oath to Winky. The wave of magic that passed by the group at the other end of the room got their attention.

As they turned, they saw Winky give her oath binding herself to the Black family. Harry stood back up, and took an elf in each hand and led them back to the rest of the group. "Okay. Andromeda, I need you to do me a favor tomorrow morning. I need you to get with Dobby and Winky here about official Black Family House Elf Uniforms. These two will be reflecting our family to anyone they meet. I want whoever that is to be impressed. Can you do it?"

Andi thought for a moment. "Yes, Harry. I'm sure we can come up with something. So I take it you are now the proud owner of a house elf?"

Harry grimaced for a moment. "Yes. I am. I couldn't let what others might think about me being a slave owner if it meant that Winky would die. If she needs to be bonded to a Family to live, then I'm going to help her as much as I can. If Hermione or Ron or anyone else doesn't like it, they can just bugger themselves! I'm not going to let someone I can consider a friend die just because some one else has some screwed up ideas without looking at the facts of the case."

"A friend?" Winky asked. "Master considers Winky a friend?"

"Winky, please don't call me master. I'm just Harry. But yes, I do consider you to be a new friend. I hope that we can get to be old friends together."

"Winky must calls you Master. You is the Master. What would others think of Winky if she did not call you Master? They would think she was a disrespectful house elf and belonged to a bad family. That would be bad for the family's honor. Winky MUST call you Master." Winky said firmly.

Harry sighed. "How about this. In public, you may call me master. Here in the house, just call me Harry, or like Dobby calls me Harry sir. That's as far as I will go." There was time. He could work on her. He would make her a house elf that could be proud of herself.

Winky thought about it for a moment. She wasn't happy with not being able to call Master master all of the time, but this was probably as close as she was going to be able to get from him. After all, it wouldn't do to have her Master be upset with her for doing the right thing! "Okay, Mas- Err. Sorry Harry sir." Winky said with a grin. There was time. She could work on him. She would make him a Master that any house elf would be proud of.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Sorry about all that, Adam. Just another day in the life of Harry Potter. Sometimes I really REALLY wish that Voldemort had chosen Neville. Then HE could have dealt with all this mess." Harry said.

"No problem, Harry." Adam laughed. "So, those are house elfs?"

"Yes. The house elves are pretty much of a slave race in the wizarding world. I haven't quite figured out why, but they are. To most of them -like Winky, here - the worst thing that can happen to them is for their master to give them clothes to wear. It signifies that they are freed. Dobby here is a freed house elf. He was the house elf for the Malfoy family, and they were particularly cruel masters. Dobby wanted his freedom from them. When I gave the Head of the Malfoy family back Tom Riddle's diary, I slipped a sock into it, hoping that he would accidentally give it to Dobby. That freed him, and gave him a better life. When Winky here was given clothes because her Master needed someone to take the blame for something his son had done, it nearly destroyed her life. While Barty Crouch Junior was as much a Death Eater as the Malfoy head, I guess that the Crouch family didn't treat their servants as bad. She took to drinking, and almost drank herself to death. That's why Dobby wanted me to bond with her.

"I couldn't let her die for something that wasn't her fault. One of what I guess I have to call my ex-friends calls it my 'Saving People Thing.' Of course, she's dead set against the enslavement of the house elves in general without ever checking to see if the elves want freed, but that's her way. Most brilliant witch of the generation, but sometimes without a lick of common sense."

"I understand. It's always best to get as many facts as you can before jumping into something like that. I am curious, though. Why do you call her an ex-friend?" Adam asked, slipping into what he mentally called 'Shrink Mode.'

"Well, I haven't heard a word from her, Ron, or Ginny since we got off the train from Hogwarts. I think they're all still mad at me for leading them into the Department of Mysteries." Harry said glumly. "Hermione almost got cut in half by a spell from one of the Death Eaters named Dolohov. Ron got attacked by some brains that had tentacles coming off of them. Ginny got off the luckiest. She only had a broken ankle and some cuts and bruises. I haven't heard a word from any of them."

"Well, remember what I just said. You need to get some facts before you jump to that conclusion. There could be several reasons why you haven't heard from them. You've already told me that one of your enemies is the Headmaster. That could be the reason you don't hear from them right there. Another is that they might be on holiday, or something serious has happened to them or their family, or it could be something else entirely. Friends are too dear just to drop when the going gets tough." Adam said.

"You're right. I've been blaming them without all the evidence," Harry said. "I'll send Hedwig to Hermione and see if I get a reply. Thanks, Adam. If you can't tell, I have a bit of a tendency to fly off the handle at times." Harry grinned.

"Well, Harry. You're still young. You're allowed to do that once in a while." Adam replied with a smile.

"Well, it looks like Dobby has already got the place looking better than I thought it would have been a week from now. The wards are still shot, though. Looks like I know what we'll be doing when we get back tomorrow, Harry." Ted said.

Just then Tonks came in the door. "Hi guys. What's going on? Harry, I thought you would wake me up when you left."

Adam looked at the newcomer, and looked back to Harry. "And this is?"

Tonks laughed. "Adam, you know me. It's Tonks. I'm a metamorphmagus. I can change my body into any style I want. Well, I could, but Mum would go spare on me if I did it right now. She's forbidden me to change back to normal until tomorrow afternoon."

Andi frowned at Tonks. "Young lady. You get right back to that bed right now. I told you to rest, now you will get your little behind back up in that bed right now!"

Tonks looked at Andi. "Motherrrr. I'm fine. See, not even a mark on my forehead where I hit the weights. When Harry heals somebody he does it right. The only think I have is a mark on my chest and another on my side. For some reason I can't change those right now. Everything else is perfect."

"It sounds like Harry did a fair sight more than heal you Missy. Harry said you told us you died in that tub. Now, you get back up to that bed right this minute." Andi replied.

Tonks frowned at Harry. "Harry, you weren't supposed to tell her that. You know how mothers worry about stuff like that."

Harry blushed and looked at the floor. "I'm sorry, love. I didn't think about that. I was just so thrilled about what you said about Sirius and Mum and Dad that I just..."

"It's alright, Harry. I know you were happy about them, but please don't worry Mum like that again. What she doesn't know won't hurt me, okay?" Tonks laughed.

"Nymphadora Julietta Tonks! I will not have you side tracking this conversation onto Harry. You will go back to bed right now!" Andi said.

"Mum! How about I just listen in on the conversation and then I promise I'll go right to bed, okay? And if you want, you can even have Sir Adam check me out first. He's a doctor." Tonks tried to compromise.

"All right, if Sir Adam will agree to it."

"Certainly, Andromeda. Let me go get my bag." Sir Adam replied, trying to play the peace maker. "Tonks, if you will go back to the bedroom, Andi and I will be there in a moment. Then you can tell us all what happened, and I will check you over. If you are fit, you may stay up for the conversation. If not, you promise to go back to sleep and we will move the discussion back downstairs. Agreed?"

"Yes." "I suppose." Both ladies replied, certain that the doctor would rule in their favor.

"Harry, would you come with me?" Adam asked.

"Sure."

"Good." Adam said. After they separated from the others, he continued. "So, Harry. Tell me what happened this afternoon. I understand that you and Tonks were the only ones there when it all happened, and Noel didn't want to disturb you when he was here. I'd like to hear your side of it, if you please."

"Well, Tonks and Remus were trying to teach me how to Apparate. It's a wandless form of magical transportation. You go from one place to another instantly. I was getting frustrated with the complete lack of results, so Tonks thought I wasn't wanting to get from where I was to where I was needing to be bad enough. She changed into that form there and... er... danced."

"Hmm. Really? What song?" Adam asked.

"Hey Big Spender." Harry replied, blushing.

"Ah. So she was going for Shirley MacLaine with a boob job. Must have been a great dance." Adam said appreciatively.

"Oh, yes. It was... awesome. Right up till the end when she fell off the stage and hit her head. That put her into the hot tub unconscious." Harry continued. "Anyway, by the time I got there, she wasn't breathing. I tried to do CPR, but I don't know if I was doing it right or not. I just saw it one night on the telly, so I faked it. Next thing I know I was waking up across the room, and Tonks was sitting up talking to her Mum and Dad. Andi then sent us to bed until you got here. When we got up to bed, Tonks told me she had died and spoken with my Mum, Dad, and Godfather. They said for her to tell me that they loved me and were proud of me. No one's ever told me that before. I kinda forgot about her having to be dead to hear it when I told Andi about it after she woke me up."

"So, all of this has Andromeda in Supermom mode now, right? She realizes just how close she was to losing her daughter." Adam said.

"Yeah, and it's my fault." Harry said.

"No, Harry. It sounds to me that you're the reason she didn't die, or at least didn't STAY dead. The reason she was in that predicament was because she was trying to help you, true. But what happened was simply an accident that could have happened to anyone in those heels and in the dark with the light in their eyes." Adam said. "Now, with CPR, doing something is better than doing nothing, even if it's wrong. It usually won't restart a person's heart by itself, but it can buy the person time to get to some medical help."

"Thanks, Adam. The rest of the people here I sometimes think are just trying to spare my feelings." Harry said. "You don't know me well enough to do that, so it helps a lot for you to say the same thing they are."

"Harry. I don't try to spare anybody's feelings. It doesn't matter if I've known them a long time or not. Ted, Andi, Remus and Tonks don't strike me as any different. You appear to have this desire to take responsibility for everything that happens, whether it is your fault or not. Sometimes whatever happens will be caused by you. Sometimes they won't. Just because something unexpected happens when someone is trying to help you, it doesn't mean that you were the cause of it. Sometimes a plan you put together fails. If the enemy does something you don't expect, it's not your fault. If you expected it, you would have planned for it right? Sometimes the plan fails because of things that no one one earth controls. If you're wanting to play golf, and it rains, you can't play. Not your fault, not the grounds keeper's fault. Nature just decided that the greens needed more water that day, or the rough wasn't high enough." Adam said.

"You know? You're right. I do try to take responsibility for everything around me. It's just when it seems that everything hits, I'm stuck in the middle and can't do anything about it. It's like if I wasn't there, none of it would have happened." Harry said.

"Harry, the Higher Powers do not put more one a person than they can handle. Its just that they seem to think that you can handle a lot." Adam replied.

"You know, I think I would like to slap the snot whoever came up with the stuff they put me through. Do you think you can get me an appointment sometime soon?" Harry said with a chuckle.

"Well, I'm not too sure how soon, but I have the feeling you will be meeting at least one of them." Adam said, suddenly serious.

"Good. Do they have noses?" Harry asked.

Adam laughed. "Harry, I'm not too sure. I guess you'll have to tell me."

With that, the pair, having retrieved Adam's medical bag from the Range Rover, had returned to the master bedroom.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

As Adam and Harry entered, Adam asked for a privacy screen. Andi waved her wand and conjured one up, with Tonks, Adam and herself on one side, and the rest of the men on the other.

Adam checked Tonks' head, neck and back, and then asked her to disrobe. Sure enough, just above the base of her sternum, there was what appeared to be a double hand print in a 'V' pattern, and to the side of her hip was a spot about the size of a thumb. Other than those two places, Adam could find nothing physically wrong. Tonks was a bit concerned that she was unable to rid herself of the two marks, but otherwise her magic worked perfectly when she slowly tried to change her skin color. She operated slowly at the behest of her mother, who was concerned that she might over-extend herself.

After Adam's examination was completed, Andi said "Well, Sir Adam? Shall we take our conversation downstairs and give Nymphadora a sleeping potion?"

Tonks responded with "Or, do you hold the conversation here and let me listen in?"

"In my opinion, ladies, physically, Miss Tonks is fit as a fiddle. Magically, I don't know. I don't know enough about your version of magic to be able to tell much about a case of magical exhaustion. I think we can hold most of the conversation up here, but if I think Miss Tonks is getting tired in any way, we will stop immediately and you will go to sleep. During that time, you will not perform any form of magic, including your metamorph abilities. Are we all agreed?" Sir Adam said diplomatically.

Neither woman was thrilled with the diagnosis, but realized that this compromise was probably the best they could reasonably expect. Tonks put a dressing gown on while Andi banished the screen. "Harry! Come here, lover boy!" Tonks called from the bed side where she sat, patting the bed beside her.

Everyone else took seats around the bed. "Okay, Adam. You've heard about our day. What was the information you found out the other day?" Harry asked once everyone was seated.

"Okay, first off. I take responsibility if Hedwig was in a snit when she came back the other day. I had forgotten to inform my batman, Brantley that she would be arriving. Brantley tried to remove her from the house with a broomstick. Brantley and the broomstick lost the fight, of course. Hedwig managed to con me into opening a door in his face. I gave her several of the treats to apologize."

Harry laughed. "Yes, that's probably the best way to apologize, but don't be surprised if she doesn't display her dislike of your Brantley in other ways."

"Ah, yes. She did that on the way out with the message. Perfect shot, and the only thing I could think to say was 'Rinse, Lather, and Repeat' to Brantley. I'm afraid he was rather put out with me over it."

Everyone laughed at the thought of Hedwig's accuracy.

"Okay, now that the humor is out of the way, I checked with some of those 'Higher Powers' I was talking to you about earlier, Harry. I can safely say that Trixie is not being possessed by a past life. There is no mention of a Belladonna de Montaigne on her soul book. The lay diagnosis of DID is looking more and more likely. There is still a possibility of mental possession, but the background you gave me fits DID. Out of curiosity, I also pulled your soul book, Harry." Adam said

"Um, sorry to interrupt, Adam, but what's a soul book?" Harry asked.

"Well Harry, A soul book is basically a book that tracks your past lives. It tells the one that reads it how long your soul has been in commission, so to say. It can be called up by whatever name you were called at that time. Yours, for example, could also be called up as 'Leonidas of Sparta,' 'Josep of Masada', and 'William Wallace of Scotland.' As 'Geniia of India,' you were the sole fighter whom Genghis Khan did not behead. After your death, he personally ripped out your heart and ate it to take some of your skills in battle to assist him."

"You mean I am related to the Uncrowned King of Scotland?" Harry asked.

"No, Harry. You are the _current incarnation_ of the _soul_ of the man who was sacrificed to reconsecrate the Stone of Scone." Adam replied. "And God help me, one of my incarnations was the one to assist with that sacrifice. Sir Anthony thought it was his best and worst mission every. While he was travelling with William, he grew very close, and it nearly killed him to have to do that. Wallace begged him to finish it in the end." Adam's eyes looked bleak.

"You mean you performed the ritual?" Ted asked.

"Yes, I and a brother knight were charged by the Higher Powers to reconsecrate the stone after it had been defiled. It was the only way Scotland could ever become a separate kingdom again for any time. Wallace was the leader of the people. He was their war leader, and they loved him, except for the nobility. They had too many connections to the English court. After the Stone was consecrated, it paved the way for Robert the Bruice. When informed of the need for his death, Wallace actually comforted _me_. If it hadn't been for that, his death would have been in vain, because I doubt I could have completed the ritual." Adam said.

"You talk about this as happening to you like you remember it." Tonks noticed.

"You're right. I do remember that particular lifetime. I have studied past life regression intensively. This gave me a great many of Sir Anthony's memories.

"By the way, Harry. You were also one of my commanders at one time in the Knights Templar. It will be a pleasure to serve with you again." Adam said with a smile. "Actually, you have one of the largest soul books I have ever seen. I just scanned through it to get a general feel for your temperament, and what you had done in the past. I found out a couple of things about you, Harry. No matter what, you always act as honorably as possible. You are a fighter for the cause of light, and it seems, a very good fighter. You might not always win, but you always fight for what you feel is right.

"After my brushing up on your history, Harry. I was getting ready to leave. Michael stopped me, and told me to teach you anything I can. In return, he hinted that I might learn something new from you as well." Adam said. "I offer to teach you my mind magic if you can help me figure out and teach me whatever this 'something new' might be."

"Okay. I accept that. I wonder if it's going to be simple to find what your 'something new' is. I know one thing we can try that is easy. Everything else we'll have to work on." Harry said, taking out his wand and handing it to Adam.

Adam picked it up between two fingers and said "Okay, how do I test it?"

"Simple, just grip the end of it, and give it a wave. If you are magical, it should at least do something. If you aren't, it's just another stick to you." Harry said.

Adam gripped the wand like he had seen the others, and waved it above his head. There was a loud BANG! and pieces of plaster fell down on the bed. Adam, shocked, dropped the wand to the floor. Instantly, Dobby was there, cleaning up the bed and repairing the hole in the ceiling.

"I'm sorry, Dobby. We were trying an experiment, and it didn't quite go the way I expected." Adam said, bending down to pick up Harry's wand and hand it to him.

"Not to worry, Sir Adam Sir. These things happen." A snap of his fingers, and the bed was clean. Another snap, the hole was fixed. A third snap, and Dobby was gone.

"Wow, that's some really powerful magic Dobby has." Adam said.

"House Elves' magic is highly specialized to cleaning, repairing, cooking, and the defense of a house and his master. For anything else, a first year at Hogwarts is more powerful. But in their area, an elf is unbeatable." Andy replied.

"Dobby threw Malfoy about twenty feet when Lucius tried to attack me when I tricked him into freeing him. I also know that house elves generally ignore any and all apparition wards. I don't know how they do it, and they can't tell anyone anything about it either. They just say 'it concerns the Master, so it will be done.'" Harry replied. "That seems to be their whole basis for everything about them. They are completely loyal to a person or a family, and if they are told to do something by that person or a person of that family, it would dishonor them for it not to be done. It doesn't matter to them that the person that they are bonded to is a good person or a bad person, the house elves will do whatever they can for them. They have to. When I first met Dobby, when he tried to speak ill of the Malfoys, he started bashing his head against the wall, ironed his hands, and slammed his head in a lit oven. He did all this while hating the Malfoys and wanting to be free of them."

"Okay. So, what was the result of our experiment?" Adam asked. "Does this mean I'm a wizard as well as being a Huntsmaster?"

Harry grinned. "Yup. Sure does. Wonder what happened to your Hogwarts letter when you were eleven?"

"I have no idea. My Father might have thought it was a prank and thrown it away or decided to tell them we weren't interested. I know I was already going to a boarding preparatory school in France at that time." Adam said.

"That would probably be it." Ted said. "Especially if you are a muggleborn like I was."

"But what about me? When my letter got thrown away, they kept coming until finally Hagrid had to come and find me." Harry said.

"Well, Harry. You were a special case. The headmaster wouldn't dare let you go anywhere but Hogwarts." Tonks said.

Harry frowned and growled, "That's true, I suppose."

Adam said "Okay, so I'm a wizard. Now what?"

"First, Adam, we need to get you a wand that is better suited for you than Harry's. The wand chooses the wizard, according to Ollivander." Andi said. "Let me know what your schedule is, and we will take you to Diagon Alley to pick one up. After that, we will work in your training with Harry, and Harry's training with you."

"His training with me? I'm not a teacher!" Harry said.

"Don't give me that, Harry. I saw you last year in the DA, remember?" Tonks said.

"Yeah, but that was just a bunch of kids! I don't know the first thing about teaching an adult." Harry said.

"Don't worry, Harry. I can act childish if you like while you teach me." Adam chuckled.

"It's already been settled, 'Professor Harry'. Besides, you've already promised to teach him." Ted smirked at Harry's horror stricken look.

"Nope." Ted continued. "No, if we have to get saddled with being called 'Professor,' you do too, and for exactly the same reason. It's the only way you can keep track of your relationships with all of us. If you are a student, you are to call us 'Professor.' If you are a teacher, you get to be called 'Professor.'" Everyone except Harry was laughing, while he groaned.

"Well, now that that's settled, 'Professor Harry,' I can tell you that my morning is cleared for tomorrow, but other than that, it's going to be probably after dinnertime before I will be available for our training." Adam said.

"Okay. Remus, I guess that means that you are going to need to take Adam to London tomorrow, while Ted, Nymphadora, and I go to Madame Bones', and Andi, you will get with Dobby and Winky to come up with a uniform. Does that cover everything?" Harry asked.

"I think so, Harry. Adam, while we are in London, I'll explain more about the Wizarding World to you, and show you some of the sights." Moony said.

"That sounds good, Remus. Harry, we can start on your occlumency tomorrow evening, does that work with your schedule?" Adam asked.

"I think so. I planned on working more on apparation tomorrow afternoon, but we can do that outside to keep from destroying the training room." Harry said.

"No, I don't think that will be necessary, Harry. Ted and I should be able to get the room wards up fairly quickly tonight. I was really concerned about getting the place back to functional status, but I think Winky and Dobby have that taken care of for me."

"Good," Harry said. "I may be legal, but I wasn't really wanting Noel to have to cover for me again."

The meeting broke up quickly after that. Adam wanted to get home, and Andi wanted Harry and Tonks to get back to sleep. Andi called for Winky to bring Harry and Tonks a meal in bed, and hustled everyone out.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

After everyone had left the couple in the bedroom, Tonks looked at Harry and said "Honey, we need to talk."

Harry quickly began to apologize. He didn't know much about women and never claimed to, but he was smart enough to know those words meant he was in trouble. Big trouble. _Female _trouble. "Nymphadora, honey. I'm really really sorry about telling Andi that you had died. I just... I just wasn't thinking."

"No, Harry." Tonks said gently. "We've gotten past that already. I've long since forgiven you for that. What I have to tell you might upset you, though. You might not want me to be your girlfriend after I tell you this.

Harry, deciding to make a joke of it, stiffened his body ridiculously, grabbed the mattress and closed his eyes. "Okay. I'm ready. Tell me now, but be quick about it. I don't know how much longer I can stay like this without hurting something." He grunted out.

"Prat. I'm serious. There's things you don't know about my past." Tonks said, slapping him on the stomach.

Harry let out an "Oof. That hurt." as he relaxed and grinned at Tonks. "I sincerely doubt that you could say anything that will upset me so much that I forget I love you, though."

"Well, it has to do with my orders for last year." Tonks said. "What do you know about Eloise?"

"Um, not much, to be honest. Sorted into Hufflepuff, was a fifth year, so either 15 or 16. Slightly pudgy, but not really overweight. I understand from Hermione that she did well in Runes, but dropped out of Arithmancy at second term third year. That's about it, really." Harry replied.

"Well, what do you know about her social life?" Tonks asked.

"Um. Didn't go to the Ball in fourth year, usually goes to Hogsmeade with her girlfriends. Never saw her with a boy, so I don't think she has had an actual boyfriend." Harry said.

"Exactly. Um. Harry, Eloise was a seeker for the other team." Tonks said.

"So?" Harry said. Then it dawned on him. "Um. So... does that mean that you... last year... and you..."

"Yes, Harry. I took over Eloise's place, and no one was to know. It didn't really bother me, because when I was in school, I freely played for both teams, as it were. But Eloise seemed to have a deal worked out with the rest of the girls in Hufflepuff. The girl was apparently a lez slag. She would take care of any one's problem, whether they were straight, gay or bi. If the girl had been really into a session in a broom closet and they were busted by a prefect before she got up, they all knew that Eloise would take care of them. That was a bit of a problem for me, because I hardly knew half of these people, but I had to play the part. A few of them would even help me out with my problems as well." Tonks explained.

"So you are saying that last year, the Ministry whored you out to the Hufflepuff house." Harry said.

"No. I'm saying that last year, the Ministry sent me undercover to Hufflepuff house, and I found out that I had replaced the person who had been the Hufflepuff community bicycle. I didn't get paid, so I couldn't be a whore." Tonks replied. "But Harry, I had to do it to maintain my cover. Too many questions would be asked that I wouldn't be able to answer if I didn't do it."

"But you don't have to do that any more. You know I'd never ask that of you." Harry said.

"But Harry... I have to admit that I liked it." Tonks said.

"You mean... you... and they... and you... liked it." Harry was flabbergasted.

"Yes, dear. I love you dearly, but I also like girls too. Does that bother you?"

Harry thought for a moment. Tonks and another woman... Tonks and another woman and HIM. Harry, being a fifteen year old male, had a normal adolescent male reaction. "I guess you could say yes, that it bothers me, but in a good way. Especially if I'm in the room at the same time." Harry said. "Does that make me weird?"

Tonks giggled. "Nope. No weirder than me. But we might have a bit of a problem tomorrow. You see, Hannah and Susan both know me. But they don't know that I was Eloise, I think. I mean, Amelia knew I was going to be in there with them, but I wasn't to say anything about the mission to anyone, so I doubt that she would either, since that risked exposure. Now, I'm afraid I'm going to let something slip and make a very erm... uncomfortable scene."

"What do you mean, know you? You mean you and them..." Harry started, but was too embarrassed to finish.

"Exactly. Whenever Hannah would return from a date with Ernie, or Susan was feeling stressed, they would come to me for... help." Tonks said. "It really blew my mind when they first did it. It was like it had happened all the time, and now I was expected to continue. First, I was just getting ready to go to sleep, and I saw Susan slip back my curtains and crawl into bed with me, just like it was the most normal thing in the world. Then, while I was going down on her, Hannah crawled into bed as well. I had to assume that this had gone on at least for a while, since nothing was said."

"But I thought that Hannah and Susan were both... straight?" Harry might have tried to say it as a statement, but it came out more like a question.

"Well, It could be that they are straight, and just experimenting; but more likely they're bi, like me." Tonks replied. "Susan talks about guys all the time, but never goes on a date with anyone, just in groups. She tells them all that she needs to study to keep her grades up. She's determined to become an Auror like Amelia and her father were, so she is desperate to get the grades to get in the Academy without having Auntie pull strings. So, she's decided to be a LUG."

"Lug? What's that?" Harry asked.

"Lesbian until Graduation." Tonks said.

"So how do you know she's not gay?"

"Because, she's always talking about the guys and dreaming about them. You, especially. It seems that you fuel some of her best fantasies." Tonks smirked.

"Oh, Merlin, no." Harry groaned. "Another fan girl."

"Yeah, but not of the-boy-who-lived. She just thinks you're cute and hung like a horse. She was also wondering what getting head from a Parseltongue would be like. She was with me when I was talking to Katie and Angelina. From that moment on, she was screaming your name in her sleep. I think she might have erm... size issues." Tonks explained. "She would purposely mess up on a spell I knew that she knew forwards and backwards in the DA when you were around to correct her. Did you ever notice that she'd back up into you when you were standing behind her to correct her stance?"

"Yeah, I noticed that, but I just thought it was so she could straighten her arm out better while I was holding her wrist." Harry said.

"No, she wanted to feel you pressed up against her bum. It was all she'd talk about that night and the next day. It was all about how brilliant you were, how cute you were, and how sweet, and such a wonderful teacher, and then she'd get nasty and get started on how cute your bum looked, and how the girls on the Quidditch teams were so lucky to have those charmed mirrors, and especially Katie and Angelina and Alicia, to actually _see_ how hung you were and what she wouldn't do to get that for herself.

"She was _this_ close to hexing Cho and Hermione. She thought they were hogging you. It took Luna to tell her in the library that Hermione had given up on you last year. Then she wanted to hex Hermione again for being an idiot and giving up on a dream boat like you for Ron. Luna was all for that. They got to the serious planning stages of a prank involving Hermione, molasses, the changing of all her clothes into Rhode Island Red Rooster feathers, and the Great Hall at dinner time when I asked them if they really thought you would approve of something like that."

"She probably didn't want the excess baggage that comes with being around me." Harry said glumly. 'Hermione had liked me? What an idiot I am for not seeing it for myself!'

"Harry, I don't know for sure, but I doubt that. Hermione wouldn't just ditch you without a really good reason. She knows all your secrets, and she stood by you when everyone else thought you were the next dark lord, when everyone thought Sirius was out to kill you, and all the stuff that has happened after that. If you want to know the reason, you'll have to find out from her, but I think you shouldn't just jump to that conclusion.

"While we're on the Weasley Front, I know that Ginny may say that she's over her crush on you, but Luna says she still sleeps with her 'Harry Potter' doll in her bed every night at the Burrow, and you saving her in her first year only proves that you were made for her, and only her. Did you know that when they would play together, Ginny always insisted that Luna be a vicar and marry her to that doll? I think she's gone beyond fan-girl and into obsession."

"So, why are you telling me all this now?" Harry asked.

"Well, I didn't want to start our relationship based on anything but the truth." Tonks explained. "There's probably a lot of the relationship stuff that you've never thought of, so I thought since we had to call an early night of it, we might as well start muddling through it all."

"First. I love you. Never doubt that. I don't care if you never ask me to marry you. I will still love you until the day I die and beyond. The fact that I'm bi I think comes more from my unique abilities and a love of sex than any genetic predisposition. I'm not one to claim 'I was born like this!' I just think an orgasm is a wonderful gift to either give or receive. Since I can control my body to the point that I am able to be a fully functioning male, I can handle just about anything that comes up." Harry's mind spun at that statement.

"Second. Even if you were to go nuts and ask me to marry you - which I would accept in a heartbeat, by the way - you are going have to look for a second wife. Otherwise, the wills will be contested, including the removal of Narcissa and Draco from the Family, and your leadership of it.

"Third. I have a past that could impact your future. Tomorrow, we will probably see at least one person, if not more whom I have been er... intimate with, even if they don't know it. I will probably have to let them know who I was now that the mission is over and I will still be seeing them in the future, even if only at Society Occasions."

"Wait a minute." Harry Interrupted. "If this goes past three, we'd better get some parchment and a quill. There's no way I'll be able to remember all this."

"It'll go way past three, Harry. Remember last week when you were calling yourself Fate's Bitch? You had no idea about any of this, and I'm trying to clear up some of it for you."

Harry grabbed some parchment, a self inking quill, and a book to write on and crawled back into bed. He quickly scribbled down '1. Tonks loves me! Bugger all the rest of 'em!

2. Need second wife - Tonks has put in standing offer of marriage acceptance - Or the ferret gets the estate.

3. Tonks has been with other girls, some of whom would like to know me better. Maybe would like to be with both. Even if not, have to know who to hide from at parties.' "Okay. I think I have the first three down." He told her when he was done.

Tonks looked over at what he'd wrote, and laughed. "That's not exactly what I said, but it's close enough. Am I to take that second one as a promise to become an engagement at some time in the future?"

Harry grinned at her. "You can consider it a promise to be an engagement, or an official proposal."

"Um, don't take this wrong, but I think you're a bit young to go with the official proposal just yet." As Harry started to object, she continued; overriding him. "Just hear me out. You said yourself that you have next to no experience with girls. I'm the first one that you have gone even this far with. I could be just a crush. I could just lust. I could just be hormones hitting that soon-to-be sixteen year old body. I could be survivor's guilt left over from Cedric and especially Sirius, since we both loved him. I could be gratitude for getting you away from the Dursley's and Dumbledore. I could be any or all of those things, or some combination in between. You need to think about your feelings, and figure out exactly what they are. We're in a nice, shiny, brand new relationship. We need to test out the waters with each other for a bit before we get married."

Harry opened his mouth to object again, but the words finally sunk into his brain. He paused and thought for a few minutes. She was right. They'd only really known each other for a few weeks. She had helped him so much in that time. He was at a time of life with his hormones raging, pushing him up, down, and sideways. He still had survivor's guilt, but Tonks had also helped him with that. He knew that he definitely lusted after her. Not just her body, but HER. All of her. After his crush on Cho, he was pretty sure that this wasn't anything like that, though.

Finally, he spoke. "I don't think you're just a crush. This feels nothing like what I felt about Cho. Lust, though. That definitely plays a factor. I lust for all of you. Your mind, your body, and your soul. I'm still feeling a bit of survivor's guilt, thinking of things that I should have done differently, but I'm dealing with that, thanks to you and Adam. I'm definitely grateful to you for breaking me out of Privet Drive, but I don't think that's all that I feel for you. There's more to it than that. How about we consider a promise to carefully consider a promise to a proposal?"

"Okay. That I can safely accept. Now, shall we continue?"

"Please." Harry said formally.

"Thank you. Fourth. I'm going to have to explain exactly why I look like a slightly older, slightly more stacked version of Susan. Probably to Amelia. Definitely to Susan. We need to get a story straight, and inform Daddy of it to keep him from blurting something out at the wrong time."

Harry wrote down '4. Come up with a good lie, and tell Ted that that's our story and we're sticking to it.'

"Fifth. It would be best for the continued harmony of the family if the wives would be able to be at least friends, if not lovers as well. I will tell you right now that I have no problem with sharing, because I know it's a requirement of the Wills and the Wizengamot. To be honest, I would like to be in on it with you and the other wife, but it's not a necessity. We will all need to feel special all to ourselves occasionally. Otherwise I doubt it will work."

'5. Friendship at minimum between wives. Tonks wants threesome sometimes. Hot Damn! Wants alone time as well. Not too sure about that. The girl will have to be special to measure up to Tonks.'

"Sixth, Susan has the hots for your body. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. She also thinks you're smart and a good teacher. She is politically well connected, and is a very sweet girl. You have also now had a good look at exactly what she's hiding under those robes. Could definitely be worse, so I suggest at least to offer her a date and see if there is a spark."

'6. Susan is possibility. Already knows pure blood customs, so won't be shocked at multiple wives. Already knows Tonks, but may not know she knows her.' Harry wrote.

"Seventh, Luna at least likes you, possibly with hopes for being more than a friendship. Also, according to Luna, Ginny still is having hopes and dreams of being married to you and being the only one to ever do so. Assuming that you want to keep both the Potter and the Black families going, that one is out."

'7. Luna - More than a friend?' Harry scribbled it down, but he'd never really thought about it before. He knew he liked her a lot as a friend, but... He'd obviously have to examine his feelings about the strange, funny, and sometimes weird young girl much more closely. Under that, Harry put '8. Ginny - obsessed fan girl. ICK! She looks too much like my mum. I would be thinking about that every time I kissed her. Besides, she's more like a little sister to me, and always has been.'

"Ninth, at one time, Hermione had the hots for you, but it suddenly stopped for some reason. You need to ask her flat out what happened."

'9. Hermione had a crush or more on me, but shifted it to Ron for some reason. Need to find out. Tonks suspects something is going on.

A. Dumbledore?  
B. Ron?  
C. The twins?  
D. Molly?  
E. Something else?'

He wrote out under number nine. Then he thought about them. Motive, opportunity, ability. Dumbledore, it's a possibility. He had the capability, and his reasons could be to keep the brightest witch of the generation from teaming up with his weapon. He could have the house elves dope her at any time in the year. Ron, that too was a possibility. Maybe Ron had finally told her his feelings for her, or maybe something else happened on one of their prefect's rounds last year. If it were something like a love potion, he was sure he could ask his mother or the twins to brew it. Merlin knows he couldn't get it right himself. - That's another possibility. Potions accident! The twins was also a possibility. They had the talent to make a potion, they could spike a drink with a potion easily. The only problem with that theory was that he didn't see a motive. Probably not. Molly? Everyone knew that her version of the big happy Weasley family included Hermione with Ron, and himself with Ginny. He barely suppressed the shudder that threatened him. He had also overheard her telling Ron and Ginny that she had used a love potion to 'give Arthur the courage to ask her out' while still in school. Timing? Perhaps Christmas while he was locked up in his room at Grimmauld. Hermione could have talked him out just as easily as Ginny. Why didn't she even try? Maybe it was already going on by then, or maybe it was just at the start. Something else? entirely possible. Could be she just grew tired of waiting on him and gave it up as a bad cause.

"Tenth. Now, Susan is the head of the Bones family, and Amelia and her are the only remaining members. Amelia is currently acting as the Regent of the head of the Bones family until Susan turns seventeen. If she were to marry you, you would have to have yet a third wife. The same with the Abbotts, but I think she and Ernie have gone quite a ways towards getting married, even if he is hung like a keeper instead of a seeker, but at least Ernie has some older brothers, so Hannah wouldn't be forced to share unless she wanted to." Tonks grinned.

'10. if Susan+Harry+Tonks, will end up needing to be Susan+Harry+Tonks+????? as she is heir of house.' and '11. if Hannah+Harry+Tonks, will have to wait for Ernie to break up with Hannah.'

"Okay, Is that all of the problems you can see with my relationships with girls?" Harry asked.

"Well, this will give you something to work on, so I'd call it at least a good start." Tonks smirked.

Harry looked at the two feet of parchment he had just scribbled on. True, he'd left some room between the lines to work things out on, but still... Harry groaned. "I knew it. Just have everybody start calling me by 'Fate's Bitch.' At least it's an honest nickname."

Tonks laughed. "It's not _that_ bad, Harry. And don't forget, I'm here to help guide you through the turbulent waters of male/female relationships."

"Thanks, Tonks. Yet another reason why I love you. That's up to somewhere around a million now."

"That's sweet. Now, let's take a look at your list. See. I told you that it's not that bad. We have the first three dealt with already. I love you, you love me, so that's one. Two we decided on a promise to consider being promised, and three we deal with it when the time comes. Either they work out, or we add to the list of people to avoid at parties. Considering the Black Family reputation right now, that shouldn't be too hard.

"Four, how about a modified form of the truth. I was working with you on while using my metamorph abilities to spot tails, had a slight accident, so Mum doesn't want my to try to change back to my normal look until tomorrow afternoon. We don't have to tell her that I was trying for a slightly hotter version of Shirley MacLaine doing a strip dance for you. Just that I needed to change to a different body style."

"That works. We should even be able to get Ted to go with that one. It keeps us out of hot water, saves embarrassment, and is still sort of the truth. I could probably even say it under veritaserum if you define looking at that gorgeous butt of yours as 'spot tails.'" Harry smirked.

"I think I could define it that way I don't know if anyone else would be willing to stretch it that far, but I know I can." Tonks grinned. "Okay, on to number five, friendship, lovers, what do you think?"

"Well, you already know I don't have a problem with lovers. Friendship I think is going to have to be a must or none of this will ever work. We all need to be compatible with each other. I had to referee between Ron and Hermione for five long years, so I'd rather keep the rows to a minimum. On the dating bit, should it just be me and the girl, or should it be all three of us together? I can tell you that I have some reservations about this, because you're the only girl other than Hermione that I've ever felt very comfortable with alone. All the others stare at me like I have two extra heads." Harry said.

"Well, part of that is Dumbledore's fault. Part of that is the press' fault, and some of it, Harry, is your fault." Tonks said gently.

"My fault? How so?"

"Well, think of it. Up until this year, your only real friends were Ron and Hermione, the twins in the secondary friends position, with Neville, Ginny, and the rest of your quidditch team kind of hovering way in the background on the friendship scale. This year, you pretty much brought Neville, Ginny, and Luna up closer, but still behind Ron and Hermione. More on the line as Fred and George. You have the people in the DA, but they are now at the back of the pack. You really didn't have many even secondary friends, and very few people you would even consider as acquaintances. When you make an offer of friendship, they have to wonder what's behind it all. And to even offer going out on a date is going to put most women into starstruck fan-girl mode.

"The press prints all that garbage about you, and even though the Prophet was telling the most vicious lies, I think that Witch Weekly and Teen Witch weekly do the most damage to your reputation when you're talking about dating. They don't even bother to look for their snorkacks, to steal a line from the Quibbler. They just make it up out of whole cloth and go on, never caring what kind of damage their lies will do to you or anyone else. And all these idiots out there that have never heard or seen you before lap it all up like it was their mother's milk. Then they spread what they heard to their friends, who tell it to theirs, who... you get the idea.

"And of course, there's Dumbledore. He kept you from even knowing there was a wizarding world up until you were eleven, and made no comments to the press about how you were, or what you were like or anything. He made you into a mysterious person, that no one ever saw, so no one ever got used to you."

"So what's the worst that Teen Witch Weekly had to say about me?" Harry asked curiously.

"Hmm. I think the latest was that you had bet Gwenog Jones that you could shag her entire team - including the reserves - until they gave up and then still be able to beat her seeker in a one on one to catch the snitch the next morning."

"What! People who say that to Jones usually find a bludger shoved up their arse! Any way I can get a retraction printed?" Harry worried.

"It wouldn't do any good. They print that kind of headline in inch high letters, and a retraction is on the inside of the back page printed so small you need a sight spell to see it." Tonks said.

"Oh great. I think I had better send an explanation to Jones that I didn't say any of that!" Harry said.

"Oh, she knows that. She just looks at it as more free publicity for the Harpies. That, and being one of the witches that supposedly shagged the Boy-Who-Lived does wonders for her reputation."

"Okay, so she's not mad at me for that. So, Did I do it?" Harry asked.

"Do what, the shagging or beating Lacienica Burrows to the snitch?" Tonks smirked.

"Catching the snitch." Harry growled.

"Oh. By the sounds of it, after a thirty minute chase, it came down as a tie. That's how I knew it was rubbish. You could beat Burrows with your eyes closed in less than twenty." Tonks replied.

"No, I'm good for school, but I'm not _that_ good. I don't think I'm professional quality. If I was, I wouldn't end up in the Hospital Wing so often after the matches." Harry denied.

"Yes, Harry. You are. The reason you end up in the Hospital Wing is because you're willing to take chances that most people are scared to death of. I can't think of very many people that would be willing to even try what you pull on the pitch, and none that would be able to out fly a dragon."

There was an uncomfortable pause while Harry tried to figure out a way to deny the compliment.

"Okay, just so we're agreed, come the revolution, the newspaper reporters are the second ones to go, right?"

"The second ones? Who are the first?" Harry asked.

"Why, the lawyers, of course. Quick. What's twenty thousand lawyers at the bottom of the ocean?"

"I don't know. What?"

"A good start!"

Tonks smiled that she had managed to take Harry's mind off his publicity problems at least for the moment. "Okay, so we start off with friends that at least don't go star struck the moment you talk to them, if one of those don't work as a possibility, then we come back to work on this one, right?"

"Right. So we're back to my original question. Two person dates or three?"

"For the initial meeting, I think we should generally go with three people, maybe a nice restaurant, someplace we can discuss things quietly. After that, it would probably be best for you to have a couple of dates with them by yourself, and then if we think there's a possibility, play it by ear. How does that sound?" Tonks said.

"I don't know. I'll try, but to be honest, I don't put much faith in my abilities with girls." Harry said.

"You'll be fine, Harry. If they don't love you immediately, they don't know what they missed out on." Tonks said. "Now, On to number six. Do you think you could be interested in Susan as a possible marriage partner?"

"You make it sound so clinical like that, Tonks." Harry complained.

"I'm sorry. How about Do you think we could get together with Susan and shag her legs off of her? Is that any better?"

Harry looked slightly grossed out to be looking into almost-Susan's face and listening to those words coming out in her voice. "Erm... I think I preferred the first way better. But the truth is, I don't know her that well, but I am willing to at least explore the possibility with her. If I am the one asking, she will know that it would have to be a multiple marriage, right?"

"She should. Either that or she will have to give up the Bones title to get either the Black or Potter title, and you would have to give up one as well. She knows if she did not consent to at least one other wife, the Bones title would be forfeit, as the Husband's titles would come first, so, according to the Wizengamot, she either marries an untitled person, and suffers the social stigma, or expects at least one extra wife. I can't see Amelia not driving that into her head." Tonks said.

"Whew, at least that's a relief. Of course, that will jump us down to number ten rather quickly, going with Susan would automatically mean I would have to have another, wouldn't it?"

"Hmm. Probably. I can't really see Susan giving up the Bones titles, even if it was to gain Potter or Black."

"So that option puts me at going from two wives to three. Ouch. Still, it's an option. Who am I to say no?"

"Not necessarily, Harry."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the Bones title passes through the female line for succession. What all do you know about human anatomy and physiology?"

"Not much. I know there's bones, there's muscles, there's skin, there's organs and blood. Doing without any of these things is considered to be a bad thing. That pretty much wraps it up."

"Okay, why don't we get back to the list back at number seven. After we do the last three, I'll give you the basics of what I can do as a metamorph and we might be able to work out something. We've got three years." Without giving him a chance to respond, Tonks continued on. "Okay. Now, Seven. Luna. What do you think?"

"Well, at least she's one of the few that accepts me as just Harry. That's a point in her favor, to me. I have no idea what she would think about being part of a multiple marriage, and have no clue what her father would think about it."

"Let's worry about that part later. Right now we are working on your side of things. Possibility? I don't really know her that well, since I was gone by the time she started at Hogwarts. She seems a bit strange to me, but nice."

"She is nice. She has a way of believing in things that aren't proven, but she's nice. She's a Ravenclaw, and smart as a whip. It seems she can handle herself well in a fight, since she was the only one not injured at the Ministry. She's an untitled pure blood, so I don't know if she would be accustomed to the marriage laws. We'd have to explain that, probably. So, on the whole, I'd probably rate her at just under Susan, but above just about anyone else. How about you?"

"I'm willing to give her a chance. Now, Ginny. I think I see your thoughts on that already written down. That was one of the reasons I went strawberry blond today instead of Shirley MacLaine's really red hair in the movie. I wanted you so overcome with lust at the thought of titty shagging these beauties that you would do anything to get out of that box I put you in. Good to know that you don't consider me to be a substitute mother, Harry."

Harry blushed a bit at Tonks' apparent mind reading capabilities. At the time he was in there, that was exactly the thought he had. "Wha... Wait a minute. How did you know that was what I was thinking?"

Tonks laughed. "Harry, we both know I prefer my usual 32B's but they just don't have enough flesh to wrap around that monster between your legs. I thought of that body specifically for that purpose. You're a heterosexual teenage male. You wouldn't be human if that thought hadn't crossed through your mind when these bad girls were on display like that."

"Oh. Okay. You know I would never suggest there was anything wrong with the way you want to look. I love you no matter what you look like. Just don't ask me to shag you while you're looking like that effeminate little guy you pranced up and down Privet Drive, please?"

Tonks snickered. "What? You don't like Gaylord? I'm hurt. And he was so perfect too. Do you know that Vernon even tried to pick him up at the park one night?"

Harry was stunned. His uncle was GAY? "Well, that would explain why he was attracted to Petunia, wouldn't it? I mean, who else would want a flat chested horse faced bitch with no arse like her, anyway? Oh, Merlin. I think I'm going to be sick! Please tell me you turned him down."

"Actually, I started laughing so hard that I changed back into myself. Scared him so bad he ran all the way back home after pissing his drawers. I'm surprised you didn't hear the yells from your room that night." Tonks said.

"Probably because I was unconscious. Beating me was a turn on for him. Petunia too, when she could watch. Then they'd go at it. Sometimes without even leaving the room. I really hated it when they did that and left me still conscious. I would have rather had the bliss of not seeing that particular act with those particular people, but I think my moaning in pain got them off quicker."

"Oh, baby. I'm so sorry. We'll have to go check up on them here shortly. Three weeks in the hospital isn't nearly good enough for what they did to you."

"No, Tonks. I'm away from them, and I have the Family honor to think about, not just revenge on a few powerless muggles. Besides, you can bet the order and the Ministry are both watching that place like hawks for me to come back and do some muggle baiting. Then who ever does it will be sent to Azkaban. I'm thinking of telling my 'source' where I lived. Voldemort and his Death Eaters will make them pay far better than I could."

"Harry. That's evil. But I like it. Wipe out those bastards, let the bad guys do it, and get caught, or at least winnowed down some. That's perfect!" Tonks chuckled.

"Harry. You got me side tracked again. So now it's up to number nine. What do we do about Hermione. You have to talk to her first, and foremost. See what is going on with her, where she is, what she's doing. See if she's doing anything that was completely off track for her. Your list of suspects looks pretty good, and if it is foul play, I would lay equal money on Ron, Dumbledore, and Ginny. Molly would probably be at one chance in three, maybe four. The twins at one in ten, because if it was a prank gone wrong, they'd try to fix it. If for nothing else than just to be able to sell it at their new store. Something else, probably about one chance in four or five."

"Ginny? What does she have to do with it?" Harry asked.

"She would see Hermione as a threat to her getting to you. Hermione ruined your shot with Cho, so Ginny would want to distract her with Ron. That would leave you open to her advances." Tonks replied. "I'm not sure how good she was in potions, but I know the twins are excellent brewers, regardless of their OWL scores. They could do it easily. And if Ginny told them it was for a prank, and then 'forgot' to give Hermione the antidote, well, it'll wear off eventually, unless of course she keeps dosing her with it."

"Tonks? You're starting to scare me." Harry said.

"Am I? Good." Tonks said. "Remember who my teacher was. CONSTANT VIGILANCE! It helps to be a bit paranoid around the people that are supposed to be your friends. It allows you to take note of any changes in the way they deal with things. Moody would say it would tell him if they've been captured and polyjuiced, but it works for other things as well. Imperious curse, various potions, love spells, all sorts of things. When in doubt, check it out."

"How am I going to check it out?" Harry asked.

"Honey, you just gained the perfect spy today. He can find and do anything his employer tells him to. Just sic Dobby on Hermione, and have him keep an eye on who gives her anything to eat or drink. He can also go through and spy on Albus in the Order meetings, and if someone IS drugging Hermione, find out where it's kept."

"But won't he be spotted? And won't the Fidelius Charm on Grimmauld Place kick him out?" Harry asked.

"Just tell him to be sure not to be spotted, and he'll be invisible to everyone there. And a Fidelius can't keep the owner's elf out of a house. It's part of the magic. As a matter of fact, I don't know if ANY wards will keep a house elf out if he has a need to be inside them." Tonks replied.

"I do want to find out how all three of them are doing. Adam was right. I was jumping to conclusions when I said they were my ex-best friends. I need to see why they haven't sent me any mail. If they don't want me to be friends with them, that's one thing. If they are being forced not to be around me, that's something entirely different. Thanks for the idea, honey. I don't know for sure what I feel about Hermione, but if she's being drugged, it can't be a good thing for her. I'll ask Dobby to do that in the morning. Maybe I can have him deliver some notes to them and see what happens to them as well." Harry said.

"That's a properly paranoid attitude! That way you can see if they are really your friends, or if the information gets leaked to Dumbledore."

Harry's eyes bugged out a bit. "Um, Tonks, you're scaring me again. I was thinking of just along the lines of 'Hi. How are you, Why haven't you sodding wrote me a letter to know you are alive' type message."

"Well, you could go through and tell each of them a few things to go along with that. Then, have Dobby keep an eye on them to see if the information goes anywhere." Tonks said. "You can safely tell one of them that you're in Edinburgh, because the Order already knows that. You can tell them that you are staying with me, and that you inherited most of the Black Estate from Sirius, and that you hired Dobby and bonded with Winky. Give each of them one fact, and tell them not to tell anyone else, including each other, because you wouldn't want to cause hard feelings or something. I would tell Ron that you are staying with me, Ginny about the house elves, and Hermione that you inherited the bulk of the Black estate and are trying to fix the honor of the Black Family. Each of them should be able to tell that putting these things into a conversation would cause a problem with at least one of the other two, but is not too bad for them. Ron won't care that you are staying with me, but Ginny will. Maybe Hermione will, if she's still holding out some hope. Ron will be jealous of you for the house elves and the estate. Hermione will be upset about bonding to Winky, and maybe your living arrangements."

"That... That's brilliant!" Harry said. "This way we can track the flow on information from it's source and see if it goes anywhere it shouldn't, like Dumbledore."

"Right, and if Dumbledore figures out you're staying here, he's still got to tear down the wards here to come in, and then the house defenses have a shot at him, since they are still tied to you. If he manages to get through that, I guess I'll just have to drown my silly arse again." Tonks said.

"Nymphadora Julietta Tonks! I do NOT want to hear you ever say that again! Not even in a joke! It's not funny. I almost lost you. And I almost lost you before I could tell you that I loved you." Harry said sternly, but then lightly kissed her forehead.

"Okay, Harry. It won't happen again." Tonks said meekly.

"Good, now, are we done with the list?"

"Pretty much, but sometime we need to have a talk about anatomy, physiology, and my ability to change. It's not too important right now, but later on it might. Right now, it would just qualify as really interesting."

"If you say so," Harry said doubtfully. "I still don't understand why you need anatomy and physiology, though."

"Harry, what if I had a need to be a three foot, six inch dwarf? What would happen to my organs when I dropped down to that size? They wouldn't all fit in the framework of that body. That's where that information comes in."

Harry had a momentary vision of a miniature Tonks with blood and guts exploded out of her chest and abdominal cavity. He began to get rather green. "Ugh. Not a pretty picture."

"Tell me about it. There's a lot more to this than just changing hair and noses. I don't know about you, baby, but I'm starting to get tired, and my back is killing me. Not used to this much weight on my chest for long periods of time, either. I'd increase the back muscles, but Mum would go spare if she found out."

"How would she find out?" Harry asked.

"I don't know. But she would. She always has before." Tonks replied. "And I was SURE I had gotten away with that niffler."

Harry laughed as he remembered that conversation. "Well, honey, roll over on your side and I'll help out your back, and that should ease some of the weight on your chest as well."

Harry gently began rubbing Tonks' back and shoulders. He was soon rewarded with a snore. He rubbed for a bit longer before carefully kissing her on the cheek. "G'night, Tonks." He whispered. Her reply was unintelligible.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Harry once again woke up at 5:00 AM. He noticed a clean pair of jeans, a work day robe, and a T-shirt had been laid out for him, as well as a dressing gown and slippers. Harry didn't even realize he HAD any slippers. He slipped on the dressing gown and slippers and made his way to the shower.

After a quick shower, he went down to the kitchen to make breakfast. He had just gotten the eggs out, when there was a -pop- behind him. He turned around, and there was Winky. "And just what does the Master think he is doing?" She asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Erm... Hi Winky. I was just getting ready to fix some breakfast. Would you like some?" Harry asked.

"No, Harry Potter sir. Youse does not fix breakfast for youse house elfs. Youse house elfs fix breakfast for youse." Winky said firmly in her high pitched, squeaky voice.

"But-"

"No."

"But I -"

"No. A master of a house elf has more important things to do than to cook. All things has a proper place in life. A house elf's proper place is to cook and clean for they's master. A Master's proper place is to see to things masters do, and to keep out of the house elf's way while theys is doing the cooking and cleaning. Now, youse run along and do things masters do, and let Winky do Winky's job. Breakfasts will be ready shortly."

"But Winky, I really LIKE making breakfast. It relaxes me and gives me time to sort things out in my head." Harry complained.

"Youse be a good master and do as Winky says and Winky let you cook... one meal a week."

"Three."

"Two, but no cleaning up the kitchen afterwards."

"Deal. Now, what meals can I cook?"

"Saturday and Sunday morning breakfasts for you and Mistress Tonks. Anyone else here Winky gets to cook for."

"Okay. That will work. Thank you, Winky."

Winky blushed a bit, and said "Youse is welcome Master Harry Potter. Now run along and see to Master's things," as she shooed him out of the kitchen.

Winky was very pleased with herself. It had cost her cooking two meals a week for the Master and Mistress, but she had kept the young Master so off balance he had never even thought to correct her about calling him 'Master.' This one was trainable. They all were, in the end. All it took was to show them the ropes, and if that didn't work, confuse them badly enough that they had to hold onto said ropes for dear life. It worked every time.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

As a bemused Harry stumbled out of the kitchen, he remembered he had letters to write, and a friend to sic Dobby on. He walked over to the desk, grabbed a quill and parchment, and sat down to begin his letters.

_Dear Ron,_

_Hey Mate! How's everything going? Not too sure how much you know about my situation, but let's  
__just say it's a far sight better than it ever has been before. __I am finally free from those damned  
__Dursley's. Tonks and Moony saved me. Vernon was in the process of __beating me to death when  
they showed up. They got me out of there and now I'm living with Tonks in __Edinburgh. I'm perfectly  
safe here, what with living with an Auror and all. She's teaching me all sorts of __tricks of the trade._

_Do me a huge favor and not tell anyone else about this, Mate. You can imagine what Hermione would  
__be saying. I can hear it now 'Dumbledore says that your only safe at your relatives'...' Merlin. I can really  
__do without that kind of a dressing down, let me tell you! _

_Anyway Mate, just thought I would drop you a quick line and see how things were going. If you want  
to reply, __just leave a note on your dresser with my initials on it. I'm working on a way to get mail to  
you without having anyone __taking a shot at Hedwig. I don't want anyone to know where I am right  
now. I'm just too dangerous for anyone in __the wizarding world to be around right now, what with  
Voldemort and the Death Eaters out there._

_Your Best Mate,_

_Harry_

Harry read it over. 'Okay.' he thought, 'I'm not saying anything that they don't possibly already know, but it should be something that he'd want to tell somebody. Perfect. So much for the easy one.'

_Dear Hermione,_

_How's everything going? I just wanted to drop you a quick letter to let you know that I am  
__doing well. Did you notice I didn't say 'I'm fine?' That's because I really AM doing well now.  
__Tonks and Remus rescued me from the Dursley's when Vernon decided to try to beat me to  
__death. It wasn't a pretty sight, let me tell you! Remus wanted to rip Uncle Vernon's throat  
__out, without bothering to change!_

_Anyway, I am in a safe place and no one here wants to try to kill me. There are enough  
__wards on the place that it seems like it was built for a war. I wanted to let you know that  
__I inherited most of the Black estate, so that should give you some idea what the wards are  
__like. Even Moody would be proud of them._

_Just do me a huge favor and don't tell anyone else about this. I can see Ron puffing up like  
__a bullfrog because I got stuck with more money. He doesn't realize that I would give it all  
__away, just for ten minutes with Mum and Dad and Sirius. Just enough time to hug them and  
__tell them that I love them. That's all. Ten minutes. But I guess it's not to be._

_Ron sometimes just sees me as the Boy-Who-Lived-to-inherit-a-lot-of-money. I know he  
__doesn't have much, and believe me I know all about hand-me-down clothes. Ron's clothes  
__might have been worn by more people, but at least his FIT him! That's because he has  
__something I haven't had in fourteen years. A Mum that cares for him. A Dad that loves  
__him. Brothers and a sister that would not only die for him, they'd kill for him. He may be  
__poor in money, but he is the richest person that I know in love. And he can't seem to figure  
__out that I envy that about him. I just hope that he realizes how rich he truly is before he  
__loses someone._

_Well, have to close for now. I am trying an experiment to see if these letters can be  
__delivered safely. I don't want to risk Hedwig, what with the Death Eaters out there.  
__It would be too easy for one of them to put a tracking spell on her and find me, or worse  
__just shoot her down. I love her dearly, and I don't know what I would do without her. If  
__you wish to send me a reply, just leave the note on your dresser with my initials on it. It  
__should get back to me._

_Love,_

_Harry_

As Harry examined his latest effort, he worried that he might come off as too sappy. 'Oh, well.' He decided. 'It's the truth. I'd strip the vaults clean just for a hug from them.'

If put together, he'd basically given away his location. That's okay, he decided. According to Ted, the wards would hold, and the Black had never been defeated in his own Manor. Harry just hoped he wouldn't be the first.

Now for the tough one. He'd never really written Ginny a letter before, but thought that since he'd not heard a word from either of his friends, he could write it as sort of a request for information.

_Dear Ginny,_

_Hi. How has your summer holiday gone? Mine has been rather eventful. Almost got killed by  
__my Uncle, got rescued by Tonks and Moony, and in hiding from the Death Eaters. Don't worry,  
__I am in a very safe place, but the fewer people that know the location the safer it is. I know  
__Snape is a spy - I've seen him in my visions, and he truly hates me - and since Dumbledore  
__trusts him, my location would get to Tom very easily. Therefore it is safer for me to hide from  
__the Order as well._

_How are Ron and Hermione? I haven't heard from either one of them since we left Kings Cross  
__Station. Are they still mad at me for almost getting you all killed? I hope not. I don't know  
__what I would do without you three's friendship._

_Let me tell you, I've learned my lesson. No jumping in before I have a chance to think things  
__through. _

_Without a Plan there can be no Battle.  
__Without a Battle there can be no Victory.  
__Without a Victory, there can be no Peace. _

_I read that somewhere. So now, I promise that if am going into a battle, there will be a plan.  
__I've been doing a lot of reading where I am. It's been pretty interesting, but I miss you all.  
__It's too bad this is the only way to ensure your safety and mine._

_I managed to get in contact with Dobby the house elf, and he is the way these letters are  
__being delivered. I couldn't bear to risk Hedwig. Everyone knows my owl is a Snowy, and they  
__are rather easy to spot if you are looking for owls in general. The Death Eaters would probably  
__kill her on sight._

_If you wish to reply to me, just leave a note on your dresser, and Dobby will get it to me,  
__however house elfs do it. I asked him before and he just says 'It just does.' Whole lot of  
__help THAT was... Oh well, I guess it works, so that's the important thing, right?  
__Do me a big favor and not tell anybody about this. I would hate to think I was endangering  
__Dobby to do this for me, and I can see Hermione's reaction about me using Dobby in this  
__way, even with my paying him. "Harry James Potter! I'm so ashamed of you, treating that  
__poor noble creature like a servant. Worse! It's like a slave! " and on and on and on. Please  
__spare me that kind of dressing down._

_Your friend,_

_Harry._

'Well,' Harry thought. 'I don't know if that one came off quite the way I wanted it to or not. I gave her the information on how I got the mail, so we'll see what happens.'

As he was finishing that letter, Winky appeared beside him and began scolding him for not eating his breakfast. He looked up, and sure enough, there was a plate loaded with food, and a glass of pumpkin juice, a cup of tea, and a cup of coffee, all fixed the way he liked them. He quickly put down the quill and began eating. "Thank you very much, Winky. This is delicious."

Winky smiled and curtsied. She waited until he just got a mouthful, and said "Youse is very welcome, Master." and giggled as she popped away before he could chastise her for calling him "Master."

Harry just smiled and shook his head. Were all house elves this crazy, or did he just naturally attract the weird ones, he wondered. Oh, well. She could certainly fix a really mean breakfast.

As he finished, he once again picked up his quill and set it to the parchment. He knew that if he sent Dobby off with mail to be delivered, he'd never hear the end of it from Hedwig. Well, there were a couple of other people that he knew he should write to.

_Dear Luna,_

_How has your trip gone? Did you manage to get to Norway to look for the Snorkacks?  
__I hope you found some and managed to bring back pictures. I would love to see one.  
__Just be sure not to get roasted by the Ridgebacks. They may not be as mean as the  
__Horntails, but they are still dangerous._

_When you return, I have been informed that I have property near Loch Ness, if you  
__would like to come up. I have a friend that tells me he has seen Nessie, and knows  
__that she is real. He has also told me there was an entrance to a Fairy Mound there  
__close to Castle Urquhart. Maybe you would like to see it some time. I am sure that  
__you and your father would be able to convince Nessie to come up for some pictures.  
__I understand she even does that for muggles at times. _

_After I get the property I have __up there fixed up, I will invite you two up for a visit.  
It might take a bit of time, since __I know no one has lived in it for several years, but  
__maybe around the first or second __week of August it will be ready._

_Love,_

_Harry._

Good. Now, one more letter that he had been meaning to write since he had gone to Privet Drive.

_Dear Neville,_

_Thanks so much for believing in me enough to follow me to the Department of Mysteries.  
__You have no idea what your friendship and trust means to me. Your courage was unbelievable.  
__Even without a wand, going after the Death Eaters on guts alone. I am so proud to call you  
__my friend._

_I am sorry that I almost got you killed, and that I got your father's wand broken. I have sent  
__the price of a new wand with this letter, since it was my fault that yours was broken.  
__I hope your Gran wasn't too upset with you for following me. Please tell her that I have matured  
__greatly since then, and if ever I lead anyone into a battle again, I will have a much better plan  
__than 'Jump in with wands blazing and hope for the best.' I've learned my lesson on that!_

_I am going to be very busy this summer, but I would like to see you sometime before school starts  
__again, as I have a lot to discuss with you and Lady Augusta. Perhaps the second or third week of  
__August? Please let me know about your plans for that time frame, and I will make sure to be available  
__at that point._

_Your friend,_

_Harry_

'There,' thought Harry, as he counted out the seven galleons and placed them in the envelope with Neville's letter. 'Two for Hedwig to take and while she's gone, I can give Dobby his instructions and set him to work. That will keep me out of the Owl Cage, and give me much needed information.'

Stashing the three envelopes so Hedwig wouldn't see them, Harry called for her. She came in and landed on a chair back. Harry tied the letters to her legs, and said "Okay, girl. You have one for Luna Lovegood, and one for Neville Longbottom. You shouldn't have to worry too much about people trying to hit you with brooms, since these aren't muggles." Harry grinned. Hedwig nipped at his fingers as he held out a piece of bacon he had salvaged from breakfast, and bobbed her head. Silently, she launched herself off the chair and was out the window into the morning.

"Dobby." Harry called.

"Yes, Harry Potter, Sir?" Dobby said as he popped into being.

"I have a job for you. First, I have three letters here, one for Hermione, one for Ginny Weasley, and one for Ron Weasley. I need you to deliver them for me without being seen. I want them put on their dressers. I left instructions in the letter for them that if they want to write me back, to put the note on the dresser and you would pick it up and send it to me.

"I'm also worried about Hermione. I think she has been acting strangely for the past few months, and I would like for you to keep an eye on her. I'm worried that she might be under a spell or have been dosed with a potion. Please check anything that she is eating or drinking to see if you can find anything wrong with it, and if you do, let me know immediately. Do you understand what I need, Dobby?"

"Yes, Harry Potter, Sir. Dobby will not let you down, Harry Potter, Sir." Dobby replied.

"I have all the confidence in the world in you, Dobby. I know you won't. Just remember, no one can see you, no matter what. I think they are all at Grimmauld Place right now, but they could be at the Burrow as well. Or Hermione might not be in the country at all. She could be on Holiday with her parents. I just don't know on her. If you can't find her, just let me know, and we'll keep an eye out for when she returns, okay?"

"Dobby will find Missy Granger, no matter what, Harry Potter Sir. And Dobby will deliver and pick up any mail from the Wheezies and Missy Granger for you. Nobody will know that Dobby was there, just the letters." Dobby said, standing proudly.

"Excellent, Dobby. I knew I could trust you." Harry said, handing over the letters. "Oh, and after you deliver the letters, pop back here if you could and let me know where they are."

"Yes, Harry Potter Sir." Dobby said and popped away.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A quick glance at the clock showed it was now 6:30. Harry knew that meant he had about two hours before Andi, Ted, Remus and Adam were due to arrive to start their busy day. 'Time to wake up Tonks,' he thought. 'She will probably want a shower and breakfast before her parents arrived.' Harry stepped into the kitchen, and went over to pick up the tray that was obviously meant for Tonks. As he laid a hand on it, there was a -pop- and Winky was glaring at him for the second time of the morning. "And just what does Master Harry think he is doing?"

Harry had the grace to blush, as he was caught red handed. "Erm. I was going to take this up and wake Tonks up, just like I normally do, Miss Winky."

Winky popped him on the butt with her dust rag. "Master Harry. We's has had this conversation already this morning. Youse go up and wakes up Mistress Tonks, and I's will bring up breakfast when youse calls me. And the Master does not call Winky MISS! I is Winky. That is my name. Does Master understand?"

"Yes, Winky. I understand." Harry stood there and took it. This was worse than a dressing down from Professor McGonagall!

"Good. Now youse goes and wakes up the Mistress and I's will keep the food warm until youse calls for it." Winky said, once again shooing him out of the kitchen.

A bemused Harry headed back up the stairs to the bedroom. He had just reached the second floor landing when he stopped. She had done it to him AGAIN! Harry sighed. Teaching a house elf not to call him Master was going to be a hard habit to break. He thought of calling her and telling her not to do it, but sighed and decided he couldn't bear to see her cry on him. It was so little, really. Just a word, and it made her so happy. With another sigh, he headed on up the stairs.

Harry carefully crawled back into bed by the sleeping girl. "Tonks, honey. It's time to get up." Harry said, lightly kissing her forehead.

"Snurk. Hmm? Harry? What time is it?" Tonks replied, without opening her eyes.

"Um, it's about 6:45 or so. I thought you might like some breakfast and a shower to wake up before everyone got here. If you like, I can call Winky and she will bring a breakfast tray up. I would have brought it myself, but I was informed that it was her job and I had better let her do it or else she would make my life unpleasant." Harry replied.

Tonks laughed. "So you've already had a run in with a house elf? So who came out on top?"

"She did. Both times, but I did manage to convince her that I could cook our breakfasts on weekend mornings. She insisted that I could only cook for you and me, though. Anyone else in the house got her cooking, and I wasn't to clean up anything in the kitchen. Oh, and she keeps sneaking around and calling me master while she's yelling at me. The second time she even popped me on the butt with a dust rag!" Harry complained.

"Harry, house elves, especially bonded house elves have a firm notion of the way the world runs. Trying to change that is like trying to breath underwater without gillyweed or a wand. It can be done, but it's a lot easier to try doing something else." Tonks said, trying unsuccessfully to stifle the occasional giggle.

"I'm starting to draw that conclusion." Harry said. "On what we talked about last night, I managed to write letters to Ron, Ginny, and Hermione and sent Dobby off to deliver them and get back with me on where they all are right now. I've also given him instructions to keep an eye on Hermione to see if she's being dosed. I also wrote a letter to Luna and Neville and sent them out with Hedwig. It was the only way I could think of to keep my nose from being chewed off by an irate owl."

"Harry," Tonks laughed. "You are so whipped!"

"I know, I know... First my owl, then my elf, and now my girlfriend. Somebody should really write a book on how to deal with the female of all species. They'd make a fortune off just selling it to clueless blokes like me." Harry moaned.

"Hey! They can't do that! Then we'd have to change all those unwritten rules!" Tonks joked.

"I'm doomed!" Harry cried. "So, erm. How are you feeling? How's your chest and back? You fell asleep on me while I was massaging your back last night."

"Oh, they feel wonderful now. Would you like a feel?" Tonks grinned.

"Don't mind if I do, my dear." Harry said as he slid his hand under her shirt and began tweaking her large nipples.

"Mmmm. I'm just going to give you two hours to stop that." Tonks said, leaning over to kiss him. This quickly turned into a full out snogging session until Tonks grabbed the bottom of her shirt and pulled it over her head. "Now big boy, about what we were thinking about yesterday afternoon. After all, you did catch me..."

Harry shifted around and was about to settle down on top of her when he saw it. "Um, Tonks, have you looked at that mark on your chest?"

"No, not since last night when Adam checked me out and gave me a clean bill of health." Tonks said.

"Before we get started, maybe you should see this." Harry said. Tonks looked down to where Harry was staring. The mark was still there, but it was looking more... defined somehow. Where Harry's palm had been was now a golden color, and the edges and where his fingers had been were a brilliant red, fading to orange as it shifted to the gold. Where his thumbs had been now looked like a head. The head of... a phoenix.

"Interesting. So do I take it that I'm not going to get my titty shag?" Tonks asked.

"Uh... Does it hurt?" Harry asked.

"A titty shag? Not at all." Tonks quipped.

"No, silly! I mean your chest. You now have a tattoo of a phoenix rising on you. Does it mean anything special?"

"No, Harry. My chest doesn't hurt, and I have no idea what it might mean. Right this second, I really don't care." Tonks said. "Harry, I realize that you're worried about me, and you don't care what I look like, but I've been wanting to do this since I put this bod' together. Seems a shame to waste it now..."

"Well, if you're sure you aren't hurt..." Harry conceded.

"Woo Hoo! Just a sec!" Tonks opened her night stand and grabbed some oil. After liberally coating her breasts, she sqeezed them together around Harry's manhood. "Now, nice and gentle, back and forth, baby..." she crooned.

As Harry was enjoying the new experience, Tonks slid her tongue out every time the head got near her mouth. As it made contact for the first time, Harry moaned, and started thrusting faster and further forward. Soon, his head was in her mouth as he continued back and forth. Needless to say, he didn't last long. "Oh, Merlin, honey! Oh... yes... Babe... I'm gonna..." And Harry exploded.

"That... was... brilliant..." Harry panted. "We... are gonna... have to do... that again sometime... soon!"

"Mmmm Hmmm" Tonks said as she wiped her lips and licked her fingers clean. "Care to return the favor?" She grinned.

"A titty shag? Well, I don't think I'm quite built for it..." Harry teased.

Tonks slapped him on the arse. "Prat! I meant with your tongue!"

"Oh, well I suppose that I could try that." Harry grinned. "You'll have to tell me what you like, but I'm always willing to learn."

Harry slid down on top of her and kissed her deeply, not caring that he had just spent into that mouth moments before. He worked his way down her neck, and was pleased to discover the oil was strawberry flavored. He spent his time licking her breasts clean and worked his way to her nipples. Tonks was moaning and begging him to go down on her by the time he left to continue his way down her stomach. Her smell was intoxicating, and Harry was soon aroused again. His first taste was electrifying. He knew he wanted to taste this over and over again for the rest of his life. What Harry lacked in technique, he made up for in sheer enthusiasm, his tongue darting out to capture her juices wherever they were. Her thighs, her arse, her mound, and deep inside of her. Tonks was moaning to the point she couldn't tell Harry anything. It all felt so good. When his tongue wrapped around her clitoris, she screamed and grabbed the back of his head with both hands and forced him to stay where he was. Harry could barely move, and only by shifting his head the small bit he could was he able to breathe. His tongue dipped deeply into her passageway, and then slid along the sides, and back out to touch her spot again and again. Tonks was panting and begging him to never stop. Finally, with a scream, her hips bucking wildly, Tonks came. "Oh... Harry... are you... sure you never... did that before?"

"Hmmm. Unless I was sleepwalking and managed to get up the girls side of the dorm without the alarms going off, yes. That's a first for me." Harry grinned back at the panting, gleaming woman. "But I can tell you this, it won't be the last! So, when can we do that again?"

"Oh, Gods. I've created a monster!" Tonks moaned. "Maybe you having another wife is going to be a good thing."

"Only if she tastes as good as you." Harry purred.

"Hmmm. That sounds good for both of us!" Tonks chuckled. "Well, should we shower first, or eat?"

"Well, you know I'm all for eating again." Harry grinned.

"Yup. Definitely a monster." Tonks said. "I was referring to the breakfast Winky didn't let you bring up, you prat!"

"Oh. Well, I'll let you eat, and then we'll see about a shower." Harry said. "Winky! Nymphadora is ready for breakfast now!"

There was a -pop- and Winky was setting the try down on the bed. "Here you is, Mistress. Would Master Harry like anything more to eat?"

Harry grinned and started to open his mouth when Tonks slapped him on the arm and said "Food, Harry!" as she started blushing.

"Hm? What? Oh. No, thank you Winky. I just ate not too long ago." Harry said with a grin.

"Yes, Master Harry." Winky said, straight faced. Then she grinned and said "But Master Harry and Mistress Tonks might wish put a silencing spell on the room next time before they eat." With that, she -popped- out of the room.

"Why do I always end up with the cheeky females? Even my house elves are cheeky to me!" Harry complained.

"Face it, Harry. We aren't cheeky until we get around you. You bring out the cheek in everyone you meet." Tonks cooed back.

"Oh, gee. Thanks. So you're saying that I'm doomed to have cheeky females running my life forever?" Harry grumbled.

"Yup, but look at the bright side." Tonks said.

"What's that?"

"We taste good." She giggled.

"You do at that! Come here, Cheeky Wench!" Harry grabbed her and kissed her deeply.

After breakfast, the pair climbed into the shower and played with each other until Winky popped into the bathroom and said "Master, Mistress, It be 8:15, and youse guests be arriving shortly. Should I tell them to wait in the sitting room?"

"Uh, Winky! I'm naked in here!" Harry exclaimed.

"Yes, and so is I under these -ugh- clothes." Winky replied. "Now, will youse be much longer? If youse don't hurry up I need to know what to do with youse guests."

"It's okay Winky. The sitting room will be fine if we aren't down by then. We're getting out now." Tonks replied.

"Yes, Mistress Tonks." Winky said and disappeared.

"I stand corrected. PUSHY, cheeky females." Harry grinned.

"And you love it." Tonks replied. "Now, come on, we need to get dressed. We have a lot to do today."

Harry said "VERY pushy cheeky females," earning him a pop with a washcloth on the butt. "Again with the smack on the arse! What is it about women and my arse?"

"Well, it's a very cute arse, Harry. There's just something about it that screams 'Smack me!'" Tonks grinned.

Harry just shook his head and chuckled. "Okay. I give. Let's go get dressed."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Harry and Tonks came down to the sitting room to find Adam already there.

"Good Morning, you two. How are you feeling?" Adam asked.

Tonks laughed and said "Just fine. But there is one strange thing that happened. That spot where Harry's hands were? It looks more like a tattoo this morning. Any ideas as to why?"

"Hmm. Not that I can think of. May I see it?" Sir Adam asked. "Purely for professional reasons, of course." he quickly added, looking at Harry.

"It's okay, Adam. I knew what you meant." Harry laughed.

Adam pulled out his skean dubh with the blue pommel stone and knelt for a moment, muttering in Latin. When he looked up, Tonks had lifted her Wierd Sisters T-shirt up, holding it up with her arms under her breasts. Holding the knife pointed downward in front of him, Adam passed it in a cross pattern over the tattoo. On a hunch, Harry tried his Mage Sight to see if he could see anything. The pommel stone was incandescent to Harry's Sight. A cone of light shone from it over Tonk's chest, moving as Adam moved the knife. Blinking back the tears that were starting to form, Harry cancelled the Sight.

As he finished, Adam looked up at his two friends. "There's something magical there, that much I can tell. It doesn't appear to be anything evil, but I can't tell what it does. Has this ever been heard of in your world?" he asked.

"Not that we know of, but neither of us are Healers. I suppose we can check with St. Mungo's and get it checked there." Harry said.

As he was saying that, Ted, Remus, and Andi walked into the room. "What's this about St. Mungo's?" Andi asked, clearly worried.

"Nothing, Mum. It's just that mark from Harry's hands last night when he saved me? It's changed into a tattoo of a phoenix. See?" Tonks said, as she turned around to let them inspect it. "Have any of you heard of anything like this before?" she asked.

Ted shook his head in a negative, as did Andi, while saying "No, honey." Andi gave another look and cut off Remus who looked about to say something. "Nymphadora dear, You really should be wearing a bra, if you are going to go out like that. And that shirt is completely too tight on you. It will give people the impression that you are a young woman of loose morals!"

"Mum. You were the one that told me I couldn't change back until later today, and I have no bras that will fit these big boobies. If I transfigure one of mine and it shifts back to being a 32B it might explode and hurt someone! If it didn't explode it's sure to hurt someone. Me! I'll change back at exactly 2:32 today. I've already got the pain potion in my purse. I'm not going anywhere other than Madame Bones' office, and then to Bones Manor, so no one will think I'm a loose woman, and I'll keep my robe on until we get busy setting the wards. Susan should be the only one there, so it's no big deal. Now, unless you want me to change back earlier than what you said..." Tonks said.

"Well... I suppose that noon won't hurt. Just be very careful, dear. You're not used to being in that form. Don't break anything." Andi compromised.

"Yes, Mother. Remus? Any ideas on the tattoo? I noticed you looked like you were about to say something." Tonks said.

"Well, I'm not sure. I'll start doing some research on it. It will probably take a few days, but I should know something by the weekend or so." Remus said. "Just let me know if anything else changes or something strange happens, Okay?"

"Will do. Now, is everyone clear on what they are going to be doing today?" Tonks asked.

"I'm continuing straightening out the books, after discussing uniforms with Dobby and Winky." Andi said.

"Oh, gods. I knew I forgot something." Harry hit his head with his palm. "I've already sent Dobby out on a mission. Tonks mentioned that she was worried about Hermione acting strangely, so I sent him to spy on her to see if she's being drugged."

Winky popped in. "Master Harry? Dobby came back while youse was... eating and said to tell you when youse was through that theys was all at Grimmauld Place and the messages had been delivered."

Harry started to turn red, but quickly clamped down on his embarrassment. "Thank you, Winky. If you see Dobby again, thank him for finding them so quickly. Andi, are you ready to work with Winky on the uniforms? I guess you two will have to come up with something for Dobby and hope he likes it."

"Sure." Andi said. "Come on, Winky, I've got some catalogues we can look through and find something appropriate for a Black House Elf." With that, the two left the room.

"Adam and I are going to Diagon Alley for a wand, and we'll sit down and go over the basics of wizarding culture. After a quick lunch at the Leaky Cauldron, we come back here and he takes his rounds. After the rounds, he comes back to here and works on your head." Remus grinned.

"Well, It sounds like Adam's probably bitten off more than he can chew on that, but we'll find out." Harry laughed.

"And we, Grass Hopper," Ted continued, "are going to Madame Bones' office, and then to the Manor. After that, we will get a chain for your necklace, and you get to help put the wards back together on the training room, as well as a noise and vibration dampening set. Perhaps a bit of work putting things back together will teach you to be quieter when you apparate."

"Now, Daddy, be nice. He did save your favorite daughter, after all." Tonks grinned.

"You mean my only daughter, wench!" Ted growled.

"Still, that means I'm the favorite. Now, Daddy, we will need a good cover story for Madame Bones for me to look like this. Harry and I came up with a training accident while I was helping him to try to spot a tail, so Mum doesn't want me to change back until noon. Okay?" Tonks asked.

"Training accident. Do you really thing she'll buy that?" Ted asked. "She's not stupid."

"No, she's not. I don't know if she will buy it or not, but at least she knows about me being a klutz. That should be enough to convince her. At least we hope so." Tonks replied.

"Okay, I think that's everything. Are we ready?" Harry asked.

"Well, you three go on, I'm going to explain apparation to Adam and then we'll be going as well." Remus said.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Auror Tonks, why do you have the appearance of a slightly older, more buxom and... sluttier version of my neice?" Madame Bones asked.

Tonks immediately came to attention, and then mentally cursed the fact that doing so with her rather... enhanced... bustline caused a great deal of movement. "Ma'am. Training accident, Ma'am. Was teaching Lord Black-Potter about spotting tails, had an accident, and am currently under orders not to change back until after noon today."

Amelia gave the younger woman a look that clearly said she did not completely believe the story, but let it go. "Very well. Are you ready to go to the Manor?"

"Ma'am? A question if I may." Tonks said.

"Yes, Auror Tonks?" Amelia asked.

"Ma'am. I have turned in my resignation to the Aurors. Why do you continue to address me as such?"

"Very simple, Auror Tonks. Because I reinstated you after you left on Monday. You have two duties. Oversee the teaching of young Lord Black-Potter during his classes with the Lycan Remus J. Lupin, as per Ministry orders; and to protect the young Lord Black-Potter from ALL interference, no matter the source. Be it Death Eaters, Order Members, or even the Minister himself. Do you understand these orders, Auror?"

"Ma'am. Yes, Ma'am!"

"What you do in your own time, of course, is your personal business." Amelia's eyes twinkled, disturbingly similar to Dumbledore's when he knew something you would rather he didn't.

"Now, shall we go? This is a secure floo channel from this office to my home. It is the only way to enter the Manor, as the apparation and portkey wards are up full time." Amelia was suddenly all business once again.

After escorting the three to the Manor, Amelia turned back and spoke to Ted. "I must return to the office, but will return at noon. If you need anything in the mean time, Susan and Hannah are here. Susan knows where all of the ward maps are."

As the three exited the house by way of the back door, they saw Hannah and Susan out by the pool, sunbathing. Ted ignored the young ladies and said "Nymphadora, please ask Susan for the ward maps. Young Grass Hopper and I will begin setting the central controllers. Come along, Grass Hopper."

Harry tore his eyes away from the two buxom young females and followed Ted while Tonks went over to see them. As they were setting the first controller into place, Tonks returned with Susan and Hannah trailing behind. "Father, Susan and Hannah have asked that Harry and I stay behind to discuss some Family business when we are finished with the installation. Will that be acceptable?"

"Sure. Just make certain that Grass Hopper here is back by two this afternoon so we can work on the training room wards." Ted agreed, "And don't forget about that necklace. I worked on the enchantments for this runestone all night. I'll explain it all when we put it all together."

"Hi, Harry. Mr. Tonks." Susan and Hannah said in a way that reminded Harry eerily of the Patil twins in fourth year. "Mr. Tonks, is there anything we can do to help?" Susan asked.

"First, It's Ted." Ted said with a grin. "And if you really want to help, you might put a few more clothes on before the young Grass Hopper here cuts off his foot with a spade. After that, come back and see me and I'll put you both to work."

They both giggled and ran back for the house. The sight of that much jiggling flesh was enough for all three to stop for a moment to appreciate. They were setting the first controller in place when the two returned. "Good. Much safer for a young man such as myself and Grass Hopper here. Now, I want..."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

With the addition of the extra hands, the work passed quickly. The wards were completed, manually tested, and the sod repaired by eleven. "Thank you very much for your help, ladies." Ted said, as he prepared to floo back to Amelia's office. "I'll get the bill to Amelia on my way out and meet you two back at the house. Good work today, Grass Hopper." Ted said as he stepped into the fireplace.

The last thing he heard as the spinning began was Hannah asking the question, "Harry, why does he keep calling you a grass hopper?" Ted was snickering as he exited the floo.

"You completed the task much quicker than I thought you would, Ted." Amelia said as he approached her office.

"Well, your neice and her friend helped out. I'll give you a break on the installation charges, since that was the case. Now as to the materials..."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Harry, why does he keep calling you a grass hopper?" Hannah asked as Ted spun into the floo system.

Harry sighed. "It's a really long story, and the short version is that Ted has a very twisted sense of humor, and was warped by watching too much telly back in the 70's."

"Oh. Okay. One day, though. I want to hear the whole thing." Hannah said, satisfied for the moment. "Now, Tonks said you had a proposition for my girl Susan here. Is it business, or... pleasurrrre?" Hannah purred at the end.

"Um, well, it might kind of be both. Tonks, do you think we should come clean?" Harry asked.

"Yes, Harry. As bad as it's going to be, they have to know the background before we can get to what we need to ask." Tonks said.

Susan interrupted briefly. "This sounds like it could take a while. Shall we go to the parlour and be more comfortable?"

After they found seats on the couches, "Well, do you want to start, or shall I?" Harry asked.

Taking a deep breath, Tonks said "Okay. Girls, I am a metamorphmagus. I was sent to Hogwarts last year undercover to gather information on Dolores Umbridge. I took the place of Eloise Midgen."

The girls looked to each other, giggled and said "We know." Susan continued on. "Auntie asked me to keep an eye on you to make sure you didn't do anything too outrageous to break cover. And I think it's time that we gave you a confession as well."

Confused, Tonks looked at the girls. "We pranked you. We knew you were taking Eloise's place, and we decided to see just what we could get away with. Eloise was always such a prude until you took her place. You were funny, and sexy, and oooohhhh so talented with that tongue of yours." Susan said.

"I... You... All those... You mean..." Tonks was flabbergasted. Finally, she found her voice. "You mean to tell me that the two of you broke my cover and made me into a sex toy for a PRANK?"

"No!" The two girls in question replied, shocked. "We'd never break your cover. We just told everyone we'd given you a lust potion and it had a bad effect. To everyone else, you really were Eloise." Hannah said.

"But the sex toy, I'm afraid that we're guilty as charged." Susan continued. "Like I said, you were everything that Eloise wasn't. And besides, who'd ever suspect two sweet, loving Hufflepuff girls like us as pranksters?" She finished off with a grin. "Half the stuff that Fred and George got the blame for was because of us!"

Tonks looked at the two, speechless. Her embarrassment was so much she couldn't even think of using her talent to control her blush. She buried her face into Harry's shoulder until she got control of herself. Harry, always being rubbish in a crying girl situation, merely held her tightly and patted her back. 'Give me a duel to the death with a dozen Deez any day compared to girls!' Harry thought.

After Tonks regained control of her composure, she lifted her head back away from Harry. "Well, Tonks," Harry asked. "Does this change your opinion any?"

Tonks thought about it. "No... Dammit! If we're going to do this, Susan is probably still going to be the best choice. She has connections not even Mother has in the Wizengamot and the Ministry. And at least I can keep an eye on her and let you know when she needs spanked."

"Mmmmm. Tonks, you know that always gets me hot!" Susan giggled.

"Fine, I'll tell Harry when you _can't_ be spanked." Tonks smirked, while Susan faked a pout.

"Pardon me," interrupted Hannah, "But can we get back to finding out if this proposition is for fun or profit?"

"Hannah," Susan whined. "You're ruining all my fun!"

"Ah, but this could be even more fun." Hannah replied.

"Right." Harry said. "Now that you know about Tonk's dealings in the past year, I'll let you know a bit about mine. You know was the heir of the Potter titles, but my Godfather also adopted me, making me the heir of the Black titles as well. He also emancipated me in his will. That makes me Lord Potter, as well as Lord Black.

"The problem is, in two years, I have to be married to a pureblood or a Black in two years and produce a male heir to the Black line. I also need to also either take as a concubine or marry another person and produce an heir to the Potter line. I think I have one of these taken care of, " Harry said, looking at Tonks. "But the other, I feel it would be a good thing to have her input on as well. She suggested you, Susan, or you, Hannah. I don't know what your current situations are with boyfriends and the like, but we decided to ask. Would either of you be comfortable in a multiple marriage?"

"Well," said Hannah, "I know Ernie hasn't come flat out and _asked_ yet, but we are pretty much into a relationship. I know he can be a bit of a stuffed shirt at times, but he knows how to show a girl a good time."

"Marriage is not a problem for me," Susan said. "But I also have the Bones Estates to manage. As the Bones inheritance is matrilinial, and the Potter and Black, I assume are patrilinial, how are we going to have this problem taken care of? I mean, Harry can't just say 'All right, Fellas. Make sure this one first one is a girl!' to the little squiggly guys, can he?"

"Ah. That's something that I was going to get into Harry with last night. We all know I'm a metamorph, right? But did you all know that I'm the best at it, possibly ever?" Tonks said. "It's the reason I can do this."

Tonks opened her purse, grabbed the pain potion and chugged it. After a grimace at the taste, she cast a silencing spell on herself. What followed was a series of sickening snaps and cracks. Tonks screamed in silence for a few moments, and was back to her normal five foot, four inch body, complete with 32B breasts and pink hair.

"I don't get it, Tonks." Hannah said. "So you can change your size. What's the big deal?"

After Tonks regained her breath, she looked at the young Hufflepuff. "The big deal, as you put it, Miss Abbott, is that in order to change size, you have to change the size of everything. Heart, lungs, intestines, the works. If you take someone that normally has body parts that fill a two and a half foot body trunk and squish them down to where they have to fill a one and a half foot area, what happens?"

Susan, Hannah, and Harry all looked sick at the thought of blood, guts, and other unmentionable items spilling out of a compressed area. "Um. Usually not much of anything good." Harry said.

"Exactly." Tonks said, "I have read more anatomy and physiology books than all of the Healers at St. Mungo's do in order to get their doctorate. I know things about the body they don't even have a clue that they should be knowing. I can be anything. And, here's the kicker... I can even be a guy, in all things except for one."

"Tonks," Susan said. "I think it's that one thing that we were talking about."

"I know what we were talking about. The only way I can't be a guy is that I don't have that pesky little Y chromosome roaming around. I can even change my body to where I have testicles, and in three days time would have to shave if I didn't have my talent. Everything works fine, except that MY little squiggles, as you put it, all hit the target as X's. So, I can't have male children. That's the one I was talking about."

"Wait a minute," Hannah said. "Are you saying that you could become an exact duplicate of Harry, except for that one difference?"

"Well, I wouldn't have his magic, or his mix of Potter/Evans/Black blood. I'd have Tonks/Black blood, but other than that, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference." While Tonks was talking, she was changing. After a moment, there were two Harry Potters sitting on the couch.

Hannah turned to Susan and slapped her on the arm. "I TOLD you we should have told her we knew she wasn't Eloise! Look what we missed out on! We could have found out if what Lavender said was true for ourselves!"

The real Harry groaned and buried his face in his hands. Tonks/Harry just giggled and wiggled his eye brows. "It is." She then changed back to her normal appearance and began laughing at the looks of shock on their faces. "Let's just say that when he's on his knees, he's in the most stable position, and leave it at that." Harry started shaking his head back and forth in his hands.

"So, the proposition is..." Hannah said. "Marriage? You two are making it sound rather business like. What about love? Or even Like?"

"Unfortunately," Harry said. "With as strange as all the marriage and inheritance stuff is, we thought we would check to see if that portion of it was do-able and then see if we can like any of the people we end up with that aren't running away as fast as they can."

"So, why don't you marry Tonks, since she is a Black, and find a concubine from a non pureblood family for the Potter line?" Hannah asked.

"We will probably do that, if Susan doesn't want to entertain the idea of a marriage to us, but since Tonks knows her and -at least up until she found out about that prank - likes her, we thought we would see if she would be interested in a date." Harry said. "I mean, I don't know much about Susan other than the D.A. meetings, and she doesn't know much about me except for the rumours, and she only knows Tonks as Eloise. So, what do you think, Susan?"

Susan thought about the prospect of dating the pair of them. It was strange, but certainly not unheard of. Harry was looking a lot better than he had when he was in school, and Tonks was unbelievable. There was a definite attraction to the couple, so... "Okay. When shall we have a date and how should I dress?"

Harry spoke up. "I was just thinking for a first date, nothing too fancy, say... Sunday afternoon one o'clock? A late lunch, and a walk in the park. Maybe grab some ice cream sometime. Maybe get to know each other a little better?" He said hesitantly.

"Magical or Muggle?"

Harry was about to say magical when Tonks said "Muggle."

"Okay. Nice sun dress, ditch the robes, and meet at the Leaky Cauldron?" Susan asked.

"Sounds good" Tonks agreed. Harry wondered when he had been ran over on his own date for a moment, but decided that the girls obviously knew more about these things than he certainly did.

The details of their next meeting being agreed to, Harry and Tonks kissed each girl on the cheek and departed back to Madame Bones' office, and then to Diagon Alley, where they found a necklace chain in 24K gold for Harry's runestone. A moment later, they were back in Edinburgh.

"Well, I think that was a successful morning," Tonks said. "A bit painful, perhaps, but no permanent harm done."

"What are you two talking about?" Andi said as she heard the pair in the foyer.

"Hmm? Oh, Just a date with Susan on Sunday. I thought we should get the succession problems out fairly quickly if we are going to find someone that can stand us." Tonks said.

"Succession problems?" Andi asked.

"Yeah. I've got to get a concubine or a wife and produce an heir for the Potters in less than two years, and a Black or at least a pureblood wife to produce an heir for the Blacks in less than three."

Ted came in as Harry was saying this, carrying a sandwich. He gave Harry a look of deepest sympathy as he swallowed the bite he had just taken. "Oh, you poor, poor man. You know you're doomed, don't you?"

"I know, I know. Just remember my nickname." Harry replied. "Fate's Bitch."

Ted chuckled and said "You nailed it on that one. I have enough problems keeping the one I have happy. You're going to be stuck with TWO! Oh, and Winky said to tell you that lunch was ready in the Dining room, so... how did she put it? I think it was 'Master is to comes and eats at least three of them after he cleans up, if he knows what's good for hims.'"

Harry groaned. "Maybe I should change that to 'Winky's Bitch.' What do you think, Ted?"

Ted laughed and said "I'm glad I didn't say it! That little house elf is one mean customer!"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

AN2:All rights to Dr. Adam Sinclair, Noel MacLeod, and Ethan Peregrine are owned by Kathryn Kurtz, Mercedes Lackey, and their publishers. I am just borrowing them for a minor bit part. If you haven't read the Adept series from them, I highly recommend it.


	23. A good teacher

Notice: Harry Potter, Tom Riddle, and any other characters you may recognize in this story are the property of JKR and/or whoever had the brains, contacts, and cash (or other negotiable items) to secure the rights to them. Alas, I had the brains, just none of the other stuff.

AN: Harry's writing in the notebook will be in _Italics_, Tom's will be in **Bold**.

A good teacher

After eating the required three sandwiches (having no desire to see Winky in one of her 'moods'), Harry and Tonks pulled out the chain they had acquired on the way home. Ted revealed a beautiful near translucent piece of jadeite, which in his hand showed a Chinese dragon. Ted then fit the rune stone on the necklace, and bid Harry to put it on. With a look of trepidation, Harry slipped it over his neck. Nothing happened. Harry looked down at the stone. It was blank. He looked up to Ted in confusion, and the man grinned at him. "It's charmed to show how well you are doing in each of your subjects, Grass Hopper. In warding and curse breaking, it will show a Grass Hopper. When Andi starts you in Accounting, it will probably start you off as a Bookworm." There were groans from this statement. "In duelling and transfiguration, it will show something else. In Mind Magics, something else entirely. Now, considering that you just polished off three of Winky's sandwiches, chips, and four butterbeers, I expect that would earn you at least a Tiger in the subject of chowing down.

"It also has as many shielding and protective runes as I could fit on the back side of it. It works as a draw on your own magic, but it's minimal. I managed poisons, venoms, and most of the lighter weight curses. I thought it couldn't hurt.

"The other thing I did was make it into a permanent one way emergency portkey. If you get in trouble, just grab tight to it, and call out 'Bug Out Base.' That will instantly transport you back here from no matter where you are. The important thing is that you have to have it in your hand when you say that. If you don't, nothing happens. Got it?"

"Let's see, grab this and say 'Bug Out Base' to get back to here from anywhere. At least some measure of protection from various stuff, shows various runes for how I'm doing in various subjects. Got it. It sounds like you did a lot of work on this last night, Ted. Thank you very much. It's beautiful." Harry said.

"Aw, Shucks. T'weren't nothin'." Ted grinned.

"Humph." Andi said. "He whines and moans and groans to me about staying up all night to get that toy of his ready and then he says it's nothing. Men!" Then she grinned, with a gleam in her eye. "Really, dear. You did a very nice bit of charm work on the stone. It's beautiful. Now, when are you going to make the rest of us one? I think I'd like mine carved on Ruby. Nymphadora dear, what do you think? Emerald for you, or Sapphire? Remus? You look more like a tourmaline man to me. Ted? Hmmm... of course. A nice black opal."

"But I -" Ted began.

"I'm thinking Emerald, Mum. That will match Harry's eyes." Tonks interrupted, grinning.

"I mean -" Ted tried again.

"Tourmaline, Andi? You really think so?" Remus said.

"You can't -" Ted stuttered.

"Of course. It's beautiful after it's been polished, Remus, dear. You'll love it. And that will leave Sapphire for Sir Adam. That's fitting."

"You mean -" Ted said feebly.

"What are you waiting on dear? I will make it easier on you, at least with these, you don't have to put in the multiple engravings. With mine, I think I would enjoy a tiger on mine. I feel a wolf would be fitting for Remus, Nymphadora should probably go with a phoenix rising to match her new tattoo, Adam, being a huntsmaster would probably like a man on a horse in mid jump over a fence. Perhaps with a coursing hound beside him. You keep going on and on what your little toy can do for fine work. Oh, and you may have whatever you wish. If it were my choice, I'd say an old goat, but I know you better than any one else." Andi smiled at her husband.

Ted sighed. He knew when he'd been beaten. It had happened the second that Andi had decided to enter the conversation. "Yes, dear. I'll purchase the stones and get started on them immediately after we ward the training room."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The rebuilding of the wards of the training room went fairly quickly, with all of them helping. Ted made Harry work a lot of the time with his Mage Sight up, in order to strengthen it.

Before starting, Ted went through a detailed analysis of why the wards shattered the day before. "As you can see, the physical shields were placed on the outside of the magical shields. When your magic went off, it scrapped them first, and then while the magical shields were trying to recycle, they got hit with that heavy Plexiglas shielding, which wiped out the actual runes here, here, and over there. The field tracings, as you can see here, there, there, and there were also interrupted. The feed back from there, there, and there disrupted it at this point, this point, and that one. Now, we can repair it to as it was if we just do a rewrite of the runes and tracings, but I think we should go a bit above and beyond the call, just to keep something like this from happening again. Now, Since we have plenty of power to call on, if we divide each wall into sections ..."

The next two hours were murder for Harry. He was sitting on a board, which he was concentrating on levitating six feet in the air. His Mage Sight was up, and he was carving either runes or field traces to connect the runes to strengthen the walls. A fair portion of the time, he was laying on his back on the board, carving into the ceiling. By the time the training room was completed, his magic was depleted from holding eleven stone in the air for so long, his arms felt like they were about to fall off from the hammer and chisel, and he had a Voldemort sized head ache from holding the Mage Sight so long. Each time he had made a new rune or connection, he would touch the closest rune with his wand and see the grid to that point take shape. If a connection was bad, it would fail to light up. If he had mis-carved a rune, the entire section would do nothing, and he would have to repair the stone and start over.

In the end, the job was done. Harry dropped the board he was sitting on to the ground, shifted out of his Sight, and gratefully grabbed the bottle of Dr. Phil Goot's Marvelous Mixture that Winky had placed beside his drink. As his headache began to quickly subside, and his arms and back regained their usefulness, he thought to himself, 'Less than twenty four hours, and I'm getting used to having a house elf. If only I could get her to quit calling me Master all the time...'

In another portion of the manor, Winky was cleaning the silver and thinking as well. 'Less than twenty four hours, and Master is working out well. He is slipping into the traces very nicely. Soon he won't mind being called Master at all.' This thought caused her to giggle. Sensing that the bottle she had left for Master Harry was now empty, she banished it to the inside of Mt. Etna with a snap of her fingers. She felt rather than heard Master Harry call out "Thank you Winky!" Another snap, and she was in the newly warded Training Room.

"Youse is very welcome, Master Harry. May I get anyone anything?" Winky asked.

Harry turned around to ask her not to call him Master, when he caught sight of her new uniform. It wasn't quite a dress, nor was it a robe, although it did have a sash holding it together. It was sleeveless, and came down to knee height on the little elf. In fact, it looked more like a large black silk pillowcase split down the middle, a Vee neckline at the top, and with holes for sleeves, hemmed in gold cloth, and a gold sash. Over the heart was the Black Family Crest and "Tujours Pur" written under the crest. "Winky, I like your new uniform. You wear it very well."

Winky giggled and curtsied for Harry. "Thank youse, Master Harry. If no one needs anything I has cleaning to get back to. Calls if youse needs Winky." Before Harry could say anything about being called Master again, she was gone, leaving behind a stack of sandwiches, tea, and a note that said "Master, Youse eat!"

With a sigh, Harry turned around and muttered "wish she wouldn't call me master."

Ted heard this and laughed. "Harry, my boy. You're dealing with a thousand years of history with that elf. I know you're stubborn, but I don't know if you're that stubborn."

Harry sighed and said "I know. I guess we're going to have to find out, aren't we." Without even thinking about it, he picked up the first sandwich and started to eat. Ted quickly turned to hide the smile on his face.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

After the "light" snack from Winky, Tonks and Remus spent the next two hours working with Harry apparating around the training room. After the first time, Remus conjured he and Tonks ear muffs, which prompted Harry to say "Oh, haha. Very funny." After half an hour, Remus decided that the noise level had dropped to the point his sensitive ears no longer needed the protection. After an hour, Harry was no louder than most beginning wizards. By the end of the session, an exhausted Harry was as quiet as most adults.

Adam stepped into the training room and watched as Harry popped from one place to the next. Harry caught sight of him, grinned, and popped right beside him. "Good afternoon, Sir Adam. How were your rounds?"

Startled, Adam jumped as he turned to the teen. "Hello, Harry. Rounds were fine. I enjoy the patients, but I could use a break from the residents. I swear that some of them need to go back to primary school. You seem to have gotten the hang of apparating fairly well."

"Actually, he's gotten the hang of apparating to places that he knows fairly well," Remus corrected. "Tomorrow we'll black the side he's in out and have him concentrate on apparating to a person. The last will be going to co-ordinates. Are you ready for Harry to begin your lessons, Adam?"

"Ready and willing, but still not too sure about able, even with this beautiful piece of wood Mr. Ollivander found for me." Adam said, holding his new wand in his left hand.

Harry inspected Adam's new wand. Adam was correct. It was a beautiful piece of white ash, fourteen and a quarter inches long, and carved into the base were a series of birds of prey in flight, from Peregrines to Gyre Hawks. "You're right, Adam. It is beautiful. What is the core?"

"Mr. Ollivander sounded quite pleased when he sold me this wand. He said that the core was from a unicorn filly, and the wand itself was made by the original 'Olive-Hander,' whatever that means." Adam replied.

Harry whistled reverently. "Adam, that wand is roughly twenty three hundred years old. You know that sign over his door? The one that says 'Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.?' That wand was made by Willen 'the Olive-Hander', the man that opened that store. Mr. Ollivander told me his tale when I was helping him inventory the place three years ago."

"You mean that sign was for real? I just thought that to be a joke!" Adam said, stunned.

"No joke. His family is one of the oldest in magical Britain, and has been making wands since 382 B.C. The Potters were some of his first customers. Willen's wand and mine are both Holly with a Phoenix feather core. The wand you hold is more than a tool. It's a work of art and a piece of history. There can't be many of his wands out in the world any more." Harry said solemnly.

"I... I've got to take it back. I can't take an heirloom from him like that." Adam said, mortified.

"No. The wand chose you. That is YOUR wand, and Willen made it for you. Be proud of it, use it well, and take care of it. Mr. Ollivander will be happy. Knowing him, he was probably turning cartwheels when that wand chose you. I can't imagine that it would be the first one he tried for you. It took him about fifty wands to find mine, and he was bouncing for joy when he got the right one."

"Well, perhaps not cartwheels, but he did almost knock over an elderly lady with a funny hat and a boy that came in at the time." Adam smiled.

"That was Augusta Longbottom that Mr. Ollivander bounced into, Adam. She was bringing Neville in for a new wand, as his was broken in the Department of Mysteries a few weeks ago. He was part of Harry's ill fated rescue attempt." Remus supplied. He turned to Harry and handed him seven galleons. "Harry, Neville said to tell you not to worry about the wand, or for getting him into trouble. He and Augusta said to thank you, and that she was so proud of Neville, as his helping you was exactly what Frank would have done. Augusta also said to tell you that she would be more than happy to have you over any time you wish. She was quite... forceful in her insistence that you come to see her before school started again. Is there anything I should know about?"

"Oh, no, not really. I just wrote to Neville and to Luna this morning, and had sent the galleons to replace the wand that we broke in the DOM, and asked if I could meet with her and Neville later this Summer. I'm going to need her help in dealing with the Wizengamot, as well as proper etiquette in sessions and the like. Don't tell Hedwig this, but I really was writing the letters to give her something to do while sending the letters off to Ron, Hermione, and Ginny with Dobby. I hate to think what would happen if Hedwig knew I was having Dobby deliver mail." Harry shuddered. He knew he had enough scars without what Hedwig would do to him if she was in a snit.

Remus laughed. "Whipped by your own owl. That's pitiful, Harry."

"I don't know. I saw what Hedwig managed to do to Brantley and she didn't have to lay a talon on the poor man. She certainly has my respect." Adam said with a grin.

"See, Moony? I'm not the only one scared of my owl!" Harry laughed.

"Actually, I'm more than a bit nervous of what your owl would do to me, too." Remus admitted with a laugh of his own.

"Okay, I think it's unanimous now, we're all scared of Hedwig. Shall we get on with Adam's lessons?" Harry said.

"Oh, Harry? I did have a question for you before we start. Should I keep my ring on? I use it as a focus for my kind of magic, and I wasn't sure if it would interfere with your kind of magic." Adam said.

"Well, to be honest, I don't know if it will interfere or not. Let's try it once and see what happens." Harry said. He walked over to a table and picked up a quill.

"Now, let's try levitating this quill. The motion is a swish and flick, ending while pointing at the object that you want to levitate." Harry demonstrated the desired technique. "The words you say are 'Wingardium Leviosa.' Pronunciation is important, but not nearly as important as your mental image of what you want to happen. In your mind, 'see' the quill floating. Now, give it a try." Harry said.

"Wingardium Leviosa" Adam intoned, while trying for a perfect 'swish and flick,' and visualizing the feather floating in front of his eyes. There was a loud BANG and the smell of scorched feathers filled the room.

"Um. Maybe we should try it without the ring on for right now, Adam." Harry deadpanned.

"Quite... right... Harry." Adam coughed.

Remus was unable to say anything, due to the fact that he was rolling on the floor laughing at the two men and the missing quill. Just as he was getting himself back under control, Winky popped in the room and began berating her master because the 'whole house smells of burnt feathers!' Winky glared at her master and his student for a moment, snapped her fingers to banish the smell, and was gone. Harry was just glad that the sound proofing of the room meant that no one else would know that the werewolf was now clutching his side as fresh peals of laughter issued forth from his now oxygen starved body.

"I'm sorry, Harry. Adam." Remus chuckled. "It's just that I've always wondered what would happen if someone were to try a spell through multiple foci. I just didn't think that a levitation spell would turn into an incineration spell. Wonder what would happen with a shield spell? Adam?" he smirked. "Care to try that in a couple weeks?" None of them could contain their laughter any more.

After Adam removed his ring, a few tries were necessary before he got the incantation, movements, aim, and mental commands meshed into a whole. As the feather floated in front of Adam, Harry turned to him and congratulated him. "Adam, you managed to beat Hermione's time on that spell."

"Oh, great. I just beat the time of an eleven year old."

"No, you beat the time of an equally beginning student who happens to be the smartest witch of her generation." Harry said. Adam felt a bit better about his progress after that. He was a bit irritated at himself for comparing himself to kids, but that was what he was learning. "Adam, remember, you didn't even find out you were a wizard until this past week. Sure, you've used your kind of magic before now, but this is a whole new quidditch match. Err. Ball game. If you wish to compare yourself to someone, don't compare yourself to an adult wizard, compare yourself to others who are starting out. We would be worse than those residents you were talking about when you came in if we were with you on rounds, because we have no idea what you would be talking about, other than 'this guy over here is sick, and that one over there is almost dead.'

"Comparing you to an eleven year old Hermione for this spell is the highest praise I can give someone." Harry continued. "She was the only one in our class that didn't have homework on this assignment, and it was a spell that Ron and I used to save her from a Troll that Halloween. It was also the spell that I just used to hold a board I was sitting on for two hours to carve all these runes in the ceiling and the top of the walls this afternoon. Just because it's basic doesn't mean it's not useful."

"You held yourself on a board for two hours with that spell? I'm wiped out after a few minutes with a quill feather!" Adam said, astonished.

"Well, I've had more time to practice it, and use this kind of magic. It's just like any other muscle when you're starting out. Weak and flabby until you get used to doing it, and then it gets easier." Harry said. "Now, care to lift the feather again?"

Adam sighed for a moment. "I'll try."

"To steal from a muggle movie, 'There is Do, and Do not. There is no Try.'" Harry said in a horrible Yoda imitation.

Adam laughed. "Yes, Master Harry."

"Hey, I could be calling you Grass Hopper."

"Try it and we'll see if your wand is better than my ring and skean dubh." Adam smirked.

"I know. It's not a contest I really want to have right now, and probably not ever." Harry replied.

"And don't forget, after this, we trade places and you're back to being the student."

"How could I ever forget? You get to wander through my mind in little leaden booties." Harry grumbled.

"Well, I like to think that my version of teaching is a bit better than lead boots." Adam said.

"I guess we'll see what you think after you see how bad your student is." Harry said.

"I think you'll find you're a better student when you have a competent teacher." Adam replied.

"I truly hope so, for both of our sakes."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

After Harry had Adam work through the first few lessons in Charms and Transfiguration, they paused for a few sips of water before trading places.

At Adam's suggestion, they retired to the library to begin the lessons. Before Adam allowed Harry to enter, he first knelt in the center of the room, replaced his ring, and took out his skean dubh. After a few moments, Adam arose, and holding the small knife pointed downward, walked clockwise around the room. He made a second circuit counterclockwise holding the knife pointed upwards. A third clockwise circuit was performed holding the knife point outward.

"Okay, Harry. It's safe to come in now. I've sealed the room to all psychic presences except ours for now. Later on, you might want to choose a room and consecrate it for ritual work, but that won't be necessary for a while yet." Adam said.

"Consecrate a room?" Harry asked, feeling stupid momentarily until he remembered the Curse Breaker's first rule.

"Yes. Ritually cleanse and remove all psychic presences from the room, imbue it with a sense of purpose for Higher work, and seal it with wards to prevent any entry from a different plane of consciousness. As I said, that won't be anything to worry about for a while, so we'll deal with it at that time." Adam answered.

"Oh. Okay. I think I understand." Harry said. "So, sort of clean it up, set it up, and lock the doors, figuratively speaking."

"In a manner of speaking," Adam said. "Yes."

As Harry entered the room, he felt as if a sense had just left him. One that he missed and dreaded at the same time. He couldn't quite place it, until he remembered what Adam had said he had done in the room. 'Sealed the room to all psychic presences.' He couldn't resist the grin that came to his face, and felt no desire to.

"What's the grin for, Harry?" Adam asked.

"Voldemort. He's out of my head. I haven't felt this free, ever, I think. My scar connection with him has been there ever since I could remember, and now it's not. It's brilliant!" Harry smiled.

"Interesting. I didn't realize that your connection with him was a constant thing. I thought it was just when one of you wanted the other to know about it." Adam said.

"No, not really. I can always 'place' him in my mind. Like I know he's somewhere south, and just a touch west of south from here, and it's a good ways away. When we get close, it goes on overload, and hurts like the devil. Our connection is more like a tunnel through a mountain, with one of us on each side. You can wall it up, but the hole is still there, and he's on the other side. He may or may not have his side bricked up, but I'm still on this side, you know what I mean? This feels like the mountain just fell on the tunnel roof and closed it all." Harry explained. "I can't feel him anywhere, and it's like the tunnel is gone completely."

"Well, I hate to say it, but when you return outside of this room, the tunnel will be back." Adam said.

"Oh, I know that. I'm just enjoying the feeling right now. Besides, given the connection we have, I'm not really worried about Tom right now. I know what he feels like and I think I can guard against it. It's the other two Master Legilimens in Britain I'm worried about hiding what I'm doing from. " Harry said.

"Well, let's see what we have to deal with. Do you know how to clear your mind?" Seeing Harry's nod, Adam continued. "Good. Clear your mind, and I'll try to just gain entrance to your mind. I'm not going roaming or anything, but I want to see if you can 'feel' me in there. Give me a nod when you're ready."

At Harry's nod, Adam slid into his mind. Almost immediately, Harry noticed a presence. It was similar to what he felt with Voldemort, but in place of a cold and dark tunnel, it felt warm and light. Harry 'moved' towards the presence, and immediately 'saw' Adam. Adam 'stepped' out of Harry's mind, and looked at his student. "Very good, Harry. I thought you said you were rubbish at this."

"Well, your style is a bit different than shouting 'Clear your mind' and immediately attacking." Harry replied. "Needless to say, I think I like this version a lot better."

"I can well imagine. Your teacher should be beaten severely about the head and shoulders, Harry. 'Sink or Swim' doesn't work well for most people."

"Tell me about it. You feel a lot different than Voldemort does. His is like a cold, dark tunnel, and yours is a warm, light presence. What's the difference?" Harry asked.

"There are several things it might be. It could be our orientation, I'm oriented towards Light, while he is towards Darkness. It could be our intent. I'm there in a teaching role, while he is there for information. It could even be the way the connection was first started. I understand that a Killing Curse is not exactly a pleasant thing for either party, especially if the victim lives through it. It could be our emotions, both now and when the connection was forged.

"Now, shall we try again? Try to get to me faster."

The lesson continued throughout the evening.

In the end, both were sore, tired, and ravenous. They staggered into the kitchen, and Winky began to pile the food on their plates, all the while berating both of them for not eating sooner.

Finally, Adam had to explain to the irate house elf that the magic they were working with did not work well on a full stomach as their minds and bodies would be grounded by the food and the processes to digest it.

She relented, but told them to inform her when they would be doing this kind of magic so she could be properly prepared for her Master and his teacher. "Yes, Winky. You are correct. I should have told you what we were doing prior to your preparing dinner. It was thoughtless and I apologize." A shamefaced Adam informed the little house elf. Winky grinned and blushed, hugged both men, and forgave them before going back to her work.

"Adam, how did you get away with that? If it was me, she'd still be laying into me and calling me Master the whole time." Harry complained.

"Well, Harry. For one thing, she was perfectly in her rights. We should have told her that we would need a late dinner. That's why I apologized. For another, I'm not her Master." Adam grinned.

"I didn't want to be. I would much rather have her call me her friend." Harry groused.

"Harry. Stop. Winky is proud of what she is, which is a House Elf. To her, a proper House Elf must have a Master, and she must call him such. From what I have heard from you, she was used by her previous master, but not really abused by him. That's the difference between her and Dobby. Dobby is proud to be a free elf, because he had been abused for years, and knows as a free elf, he can never be abused again.

"A House Elf with a good master need never be abused, if she is working in her Master's interest. It's my understanding of your world that to beat another's House Elf is to issue an insult to the owner of that Elf. Her calling you Master is also telling all others that she's your property, so don't mess with her or they will have to deal with you. It is a statement of trust in the bond between the two of you. A House Elf gives up its freedom to its Master in hopes that the Master will protect it and allow some measure of that freedom back to it. It does not necessarily have to be only bond of subservience, but one of caring and respect as well. With a good master, that caring and respect is mutual."

"I... I never really thought about it that way before, Adam." Harry said. "I'm still not exactly comfortable with it, but I'll think some more on it."

"Okay. That's good enough, Harry." Adam said. "Now, on to Homework. After you get up in the morning, and before you eat breakfast, you need to work more on organizing your memories. This is likely to take the longest amount of time, and is largely a solo operation. Remember how I was helping you at the tail end of our lesson..."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

After showing Adam to the door, Harry staggered into the sitting room and collapsed on the couch.

Tonks looked up from her book and smiled. "Tough day honey?"

Harry groaned as he looked at her. "Let's see. Got kicked out of my own kitchen for trying to make breakfast. Sent Dobby off to spy for me. Warded a manor house against werewolves. Had my girlfriend set me up for a date with a prospective girlfriend. Spent two hours levitating and carving wards. Spent another two hours practicing apparating. Taught beginning wand work 101 to Adam. Had Adam gently running through my head with little leaden booties. Got yelled at again by my House Elf for not letting her know my eating schedule. I'd call that a pretty busy day."

Tonks put her book down and slid over onto the couch next to him. "Oh, my poor baby..." She kissed him lightly. "Care to go take a bath and relax a bit? Mum and Dad said they'd be here tomorrow for lunch, so we have the morning to sleep in a bit."

"A bath sounds wonderful. You might be able to sleep in a bit tomorrow, but Adam gave me homework to be done before breakfast. I have to work on the rough organization of my mind, and food will ground the mind as well as the body. That means I'll probably have to do it early."

"Aw... So no sleep in for you?" Tonks pouted.

"Well. Maybe a little sleep in. I just have to get some work done on it. He said it'd probably take the most amount of time, so it's not like he expects it to be done before he gets here tomorrow."

"Good. So we compromise on the sleep in and I'll make sure that you get some of your memories sorted out." Tonks said. "Now, come on. We have a tub that's calling your name... And I'll make sure that you're nice and clean when you come to bed with me..." She whispered seductively in his ear, and nibbled for a bit on his earlobe before getting up and holding out a hand to help him up.

"Mmmm. Sounds like good clean fun." Harry grinned, grabbing her hand. He was shocked to find that his impromptu intention of pulling her down on his lap lifted him up without the lithe Auror moving.

"Balance is everything, Harry." Tonks smirked.

"This coming from the clumsiest person ever to go through the Auror Academy?"

"I will have you know that my clumsiness is mostly an act. It makes people underestimate me, which can be useful. I almost always know exactly where my center of gravity is, and if it's too far out of whack I can adjust for it."

"Oh really? And how do you explain your crash and burn in the training room?" Harry teased.

"Simple, really. Have YOU ever tried to dance in stiletto heels?" Tonks rejoined.

"I think I can honestly say that even the thought of my trying to dance in stiletto heels has never crossed my mind, much less my feet." Harry laughed. "But I do understand what you are saying. I doubt that I could even stand up like that, much less what you were doing."

"Come on, you!" Tonks said, dragging Harry up the stairs.

After they were in the tub, Harry noticed a slight crease in Tonks' brows. "Love, are you okay? You've had a bit of a hard day as well."

"Well, I don't think it's anything I can't live with, and I'd hate to bother you with it after your day today, hon."

"I don't care if it's something you can live with or not. I don't want you to have to deal with anything on your own, so spill."

"Okay. It's Hannah and Susan. I didn't exactly mind being undercover as the 'Puff bicycle when I was thinking it really was Eloise that I was acting like. Now I find out that I was tricked into it, by a prospective co-wife, and I really don't know what I think about it. I mean, yeah, it was a good prank, but I think they took it too far, and threatened my cover as well. If I had been anyone but Eloise, I would have been so busted in the first week."

"It's okay, hon. I didn't want to tell you this, but Susan's prank kinda turned me off on her as a partner, even if you were okay with what she did." Harry said.

Harry could see that she was close to tears about being duped by a pair of teens, about being tricked into being a toy for the rest of the house, about the thought of having her cover blown, about the whole thing. He wrapped his arms and legs around her and gently kissed her neck while whispering comforting words in her ear. Tonks lost it. For the next ten minutes, sobs wracked her body. After she had cried herself out, she turned around in his embrace, and hugged him back. "I'm sorry, Harry." she whispered.

"For what? Getting me wet? We _are_ in a bath tub after all. I thought that was the idea." Harry grinned.

"No, silly. For ruining your shot with Susan. If I hadn't-"

"Stop!" Harry interrupted. "You had nothing to do with it. _Susan_ ruined my shot with Susan. Now, all we have to do is come up with a suitable revenge."

"What? Wait... What do you mean 'revenge'?" Tonks sniffled.

"Well, she _did_ mess with a Black. It's not something that can be left as is. This requires swift and just punishment." Harry said as his grin returned.

"So... Does this mean that we are still going on the date with her on Sunday?" Tonks asked.

"Sunday... Yes, I think I can put something together by then." Harry replied.

"Okay. Nothing permanently disfiguring, though. Right?"

"Of course, dearest. Just humiliating and maddening," Harry replied. "I'm shocked that you would think I would actually hurt a young girl like that." he mock pouted.

"Baby, I'm just trying to make sure that you don't do anything to get Amelia too upset with you." Tonks said, running her fingers through his hair.

"I don't think Amelia will be too concerned when the all facts come in. Not with us, anyway. It's probably a good thing that Susan likes to be spanked, though." Harry said, deadpan.

Tonks giggled as the strange thought ran through her head. Her giggles shifted to groans as Harry began to "wash" her with his hands.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The next morning, Harry did, in fact, sleep in. He awoke at seven, instead of his usual five o'clock. He carefully extracted himself from Tonks' grip and went to the loo to get ready for his day. As he was in the shower, he got hit in the ear with the notebook. With a sigh, Harry put the notebook outside the shower and finished washing his hair. He'd deal with that after he got out.

After his shower, Harry grabbed the notebook and stopped by the kitchen to inform Winky that he would need to skip breakfast that morning, other than a quick cup of tea. Winky was irritated at this until he told her that he had to do some more occlumency work, much like the night before. Winky agreed, but made him promise to eat a very large lunch to make up for it.

"Does Master Harry wish to see his mail? Dobby dropped it off for youse earlier. He is saying that they is all at Grimmauld Place right now, and Miss Hermione is crying a lot at night, but no one has given her a potion since Dobby started watching her."

Harry took the three messages and a cup of tea from Winky and sat at the table, sipping the tea and reading through his correspondence.

The first was from Ron.

_Hey Mate,_

_Good to hear from you. What happened at the Muggles? Did the twins _

_finally blow the place up like they had threatened? Or did the Death Eaters _

_manage to attack you? Mum has been very close lipped about it, but as _

_soon as that happened, she moved us all here to HQ._

_Good thing you missed out on all the fireworks at Kings Cross, Mate. Mum _

_was going to give you a right royal Weasley arse chewing for going to the _

_Ministry. Don't worry about it now, though. I think she's calmed down enough _

_to listen to reason. I call it all no harm, no foul, but you know how Mum gets. _

_I think she was more upset about Ginny's broken ankle than my getting attacked _

_by the brains. Maybe that's cause Ginny's her ickle perfect ickle girl._

_Fred and George are upset with Mum. They petitioned to join the Order since _

_they were out of school now, but Mum managed to talk Dumbledore into not _

_letting them in, since they didn't take their NEWTs. Doesn't matter that they are _

_now owners of one of the hottest properties in Diagon Alley, nope. Not to Mum. _

_They're too young and that's it. Hope this doesn't cause them to do a Percy and _

_bail on the family._

_Bill is working at Gringott's here in London now, and Mum keeps trying to find out _

_his new girlfriend's name, and when we can meet her, and all that._

_Hermione's parents died on the way home from someplace about a week ago, so she's _

_staying with us right now. She said a muggle lorry driver had a heart attack and forced _

_them into the Thames, right off the bridge. She gave me a funny look when I asked if _

_they had tentacles like the brains did. Dunno what I said wrong._

_I've been having my hands full trying to comfort her. Been kinda nice, really. She first _

_kept pushing me away and wanting to write you, but then she just started cozying up _

_to me real nice. Girls. I know I'll never figure them out._

_Anyhow, I'll get more to you later, mate._

_Ron_

Hermione's parents were dead? and RON was comforting her? Mr. Emotional Range of a Teaspoon himself? Fred and George would have been better at comforting Hermione than Ron! That bit about the sudden change in Hermione's attitude was disturbing, though. Sounds like something had happened there.

The next was from Ginny.

_Dear Harry,_

_Well, Mum was a bit upset at the thought of you taking us to the Ministry, but she's _

_pretty much over that now. She's going wild about you doing a runner, though. _

_Why didn't you go to the Burrow? You know that we'd have taken you in in a second. _

_Well, I know I would, anyway, and I'm sure I could have convinced Mum that you _

_needed to be there as well._

_Did you know that Hermione's parents died in a car accident? The Headmaster said that _

_it seemed to be just a sad happening, and that You-Know-Who had nothing to do with it._

_We're all at HQ right now, as the Headmaster wants to make sure that someone is always _

_here in case of a Death Eater attack. It's dead boring, really. Hermione and Ron are either _

_in the Library or the sitting room all the time and Ron seems to be wanting to check to see_

_if her tonsils are all right. _

_I wish you were here, then there would be someone to carry on an intelligent conversation_

_with and explore some of the various rooms with. I found a great hidden room with the _

_door actually IN the stairs to the basement. It'd be perfect for the two of us to explore _

_in depth._

_Well, Mum is calling us for Dinner, so must be going._

_Love Always,_

_Ginny_

Harry was glad that he hadn't eaten yet. If he had he wasn't sure he could have managed to keep breakfast down after reading that. 'Bloody Hell.' Harry thought with a shudder. The last was from Hermione.

_Dear Harry,_

_I hope you are well. To borrow a line from you, I'm fine. _

_My parents' car was pushed into the Thames River on their way back from a visit on the _

_south side of London when a lorry driver had a heart attack and lost control. Professor _

_Dumbledore said it was not a Death Eater attack, but I'm not too sure. I don't think I'll _

_ever be too sure of anything any more._

_I now know what you've felt like all these years. I miss them so much, and while Arthur_

_and Molly are nice people, they aren't my parents. Molly seems to be pushing Ron and _

_I together any time I see her. She doesn't seem realize that Ron wouldn't recognize a _

_higher emotion than hunger if it bit him. _

_The only time I can get any time away from him is when I tell him that I need to write _

_to Victor. Then he gets in a huff and leaves me alone for a few hours. He keeps wanting _

_to kiss me. This is RON! At first I resisted, but then the last time I did that he gave me a_

_look like I was acting out of character. Now I let him in order to keep his suspicions down._

_I really need to see you, Harry. Something is wrong. I'm missing huge pieces of time out _

_of some of my days. At first I thought it was just my grief, but now I'm not so sure. I've _

_taken to pulling a Moody and am only drinking water from the tap in a glass that I never _

_let leave my sight. I don't know if I'm just paranoid as part of my dealing with Mum and _

_Dad's deaths, or if someone really is out to get me._

_For right now, I've decided that I need to practice some constant vigilance and see if _

_that doesn't help me get my mind together._

_Take care, and please write soon,_

_Love,_

_Hermione_

Hermione was alternating between scared and hurting, knowing that something was wrong. What really worried Harry was her first line. Harry knew what 'I'm fine' meant when he said it. He also knew that for Hermione to be using that phrase, she was in a very bad way. 'Hermione suspects something strange is going on.' Harry thought. He had to agree that things did sound suspicious, not just from what she had written, but from Ginny and Ron as well.

Ron could possibly be looked at as a horny teenager trying to balance between helping a grieving friend and wanting to have a relationship with her. Ginny hardly mentioned Hermione, other than to say that Ron was getting at least to first base and wanting more. She seemed more to be throwing herself at Harry through the letter and trying to tell him that there was already a relationship going on between Ron and Hermione. Ron didn't mention any snogging, but maybe he had implied it in the "comforting."

Harry thought it was interesting that the Order was still using HIS house as their Headquarters. Wouldn't Hogwarts be just as easy for them? Dumbledore might be the secret-keeper for the place, but that didn't mean he OWNED it! Taking back Grimmauld would have to be a priority.

Harry knew he would have to let the others in on the letters and get their opinions before answering any of them. In the mean time, he had to have a chat with Tom and then work on organizing his memories. Finishing his now cold cup of tea, Harry left the kitchen and went back to the parlour. This would do for his talk with Tom.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

_Hello Tom._

**Good Morning, Harry. What happened last night? You were gone for several hours. I couldn't feel you. It was... strange.**

_Well, my new teacher put up a psychic ward around a room in the house for practicing occlumency. He felt that any possible intrusions while we were working on it would be considered a 'bad thing.'_

**Your teacher is correct. I am impressed. I will have to research psychic wards. It's something I've not encountered before. So who is your teacher?**

_You're not going to believe this. He thought he was a muggle, until the day before yesterday. He's had a lot of experience with the unusual, though. His approach to it all was quite interesting._

**A muggle? How... interesting. And you say that he found out he wasn't the day before yesterday? Very interesting, indeed. The best teachers know how to make their subject interesting to their pupils, no matter what it is. That's what I really hated about Hogwarts. I love history, and having a ghost as a professor would be quite intriguing, but I'm convinced that Binns could make a duel to the death boring for the participants.**

_Oh, so you had Binns as well? Was he a ghost then, or did he die after you left?_

**Actually, he died in my second year. The running joke was that he had finally bored himself to death. I've always wondered if he actually had an unhealthy obsession with the Goblin Wars, or if it went against school policies to teach anything prior to 1800.**

_I've wondered that myself. Look, I really hate to cut this short, but my teacher gave me some occlumency homework to do before he came by today, so I really need to get busy with it. I hope you don't mind._

**Of course not, Harry. Homework first. Pleasure later. Oh, if you want to kill some time, do a check on the history of the world between 1800 and now. You will probably find it as enlightening as I did.**

_What do you mean by that, Tom?_

**Just what I said. It will take time, but I think you will find it very enlightening. Oh, and compare the magical and muggle histories as well. It's always best to get as many views of the same thing as possible. **

_Well, I have to be going. I don't know just when I'll have the time to read up on history, but I will try._

**Certainly, Harry. Have a good day. Just read as much as you can as soon as you can. I will let you draw your own conclusions from it all.**

_Thanks, Bye Tom._

With that, Harry snapped the notebook shut and headed back for the small library. As he closed the door, Harry once again felt the freedom of his mind being his own. Sitting in the center of the room, he slipped into a meditative trance and began the long task of sorting once more.

Just outside the village of Little Hangleton, in a house that only a select few could see, in a room with a throne made of bones and a desk made of ivory, a rare smile crossed the face of the Dark Lord. 'Perfect,' he thought to himself.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Harry was feeling a bit better after two hours in his own head. He'd made a start with the easier memories. He'd worked his way through his Hogwarts lessons, doing a rough sort and file them. For right this moment, he'd created mental trunks of each for Transfiguration, Charms, Defense, Herbology, History, Astronomy, Divination, COMC and Other. After a quick examination of a memory, he sorted it into a 'trunk'. The 'Other trunk' was by far the largest, as it was everything except what he was working on at the time. It wasn't much, but it was a start.

Harry went to the kitchen and asked Winky for a quick snack, and was served three monstrous sandwiches and a pitcher of pumpkin juice and was informed that he WOULD eat it like a good Master, or else. Not wanting to know what the 'or else' was, Harry shut up and ate. Winky grinned and with a -pop-, was gone.

Tonks joined him at the table. "Hey, Hon. Want a bite?" He asked.

"And get on that elf's bad side? I don't see that happening any time soon, Love. So, did you have a good time running around inside your head with little leaden booties?"

"It wasn't too bad. I didn't get very far, just the stuff I learned at Hogwarts, but it's a start. Everything else is going to have to wait for later. I don't think I can deal with some of that alone if I get lost somewhere in a memory." Harry grimmaced at the thought.

"Yeah, I imagine that it could get kind of ugly in some of it, huh?" Tonks said sadly.

"Yeah, some of it is, but some of it's really good, too. Like the memories I have of you."

"Ah... How sweet you are, Harry." Tonks chirped.

"Thank you, I try." Harry grinned back.

"C'mon. Hurry up and finish up. We've got some exercise to take care of before the others get here." Tonks said.

Harry groaned, but perked up when Tonks gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "Don't worry. We'll work on limbering you up a bit, so you can digest your meal."

After the meal, Tonks led Harry through stretching exercises, and then walked over to the table at the side of the training room. She pulled a sheet off a stereo system and soon Barry White's crooning filled the room.

"Um, Tonks," Harry yelled, "I can't dance."

"Nonsense, Harry. If you can fight, you can dance." Tonks replied. "And I already know you can fight. You just didn't have any incentive to dance until now. Now, I know two methods of providing incentive. The first way is the Black method, which my mother learned under. It consists of me standing back over there and shooting stinging hexes at you in time to the music. The second way is for me to strip this top off and start moving against you in time to the music. Which one of these would you prefer?"

"Erm... I think I'd like to try the second one," Harry replied.

"Okay, then here's the deal. You work with me on this, and I won't have to use the other option," Tonks declared as she stripped off her T-shirt.

"Okay. Let's try this way first. When you get tired of my stomping on your toes, then we'll shift to the other way. Just let me know before hand that you're changing tactics." Harry said with a grin, his eyes never leaving her chest as her nipples mesmerized him.

"What? And take away all my fun?" Tonks chirped, wrapping her arms around his neck and swaying to the music. "Now dance, Love."

Harry grasped her waist, looked up at her eyes, and began moving with her slowly. He grinned and said "You know, you're a lot more fun to dance with than one of the Padma Patil."

"Well, Padma never tried to dance with you like this, now did they?"

"I can honestly say that I never even got to first base with Miss Patil, much less dancing with her half naked."

They danced in silence for a few more minutes. The radio shifted to a faster song, and Tonks shifted back away from him a bit and picked up the pace. Harry stumbled a bit and stepped on her toe. "Oh, bugger! I'm sorry Tonks."

"Don't worry about it, Harry. Steel-toed Doc Martens! Didn't feel a thing." Tonks chirped. "Now, work with the beat. Feel it flow through you and move with it. One Two Three Four. Thump thump thump thump. That's it. Now you're going with it. So, are you having fun?"

Harry was moving in time with the music, watching the interesting things that were happening to Tonks' breasts. "Oh, yeah. Great fun. I'd be having even more fun if I were just watching you do this."

"Well, keep this up and maybe we'll have to try it again some time with you sitting out a few dances. Just be warned, I want equal time." Tonks said.

"Equal time, eh?" Harry kept moving and stripped his shirt off over his head. "How about this?"

"Whoo hoo, Stud! Take it off!" Tonks shouted. "So, are you wearing boxers or a posing pouch?"

Harry stumbled for a moment. "A what? What's a posing pouch?"

"Um, basically, for you it would be a combination of a g-string and a sock that covers Harry Junior and his two friends." Tonks answered.

"Boxers. Definately boxers." Harry said as he fell to the floor laughing at the thought.

"Hey, You! Get up or we go with option one!" Tonks said to her prone student.

"Okay, okay. I'm getting up." After he got up, Harry started bobbing his head with the music to get the beat back and then started moving with the music again.

"Very good, Harry. You got right back into the beat of it."

"I try." Harry grinned. "It's amazing what I can do with a good teacher. I've heard that a good teacher can make anything interesting. You've just proved that point."

After an hour and a half, Harry was exhausted. He and Tonks were just dancing to a slow song when Moony slipped up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. "Mind if I cut in?"

Harry turned around, grinned, and said "Hey Remus! Sure. Just watch where you put those paws." With that, he let go of Tonks, turned around and grabbed Moony's waist and continued dancing.

Remus laughed and said "Well, I guess I was asking for that. Don't you two think you should get dressed? Andi and Ted are going to be here in a few minutes."

Harry laughed. "I suppose we had probably better. Hon? Do you know what happened to my pants?"

"Oh, I banished those when 'Love in an Elevator' hit the radio." Tonks replied. "Winky! Harry's pants had a slight mishap. Do you think you could find him a new pair?"

There was a pop, and Winky said "Here youse is, Mistress Tonks. Is there anything else?"

"No, Winky. Thank you very much."

"Youse is very welcome, Mistress Tonks. Master, Lunch will be served in fifteen minutes. Youse will eat it all."

"But I just had those sandwiches, Winky," Harry complained.

"Youse will eat it all, Master. I don't want to hear anything more about it. Youse is a growing Master and youse needs your energy." Winky said firmly.

Harry shook his head in resignation. "Yes, Winky. I will eat it all."

Winky grinned and disappeared with a pop.

Moony was trying very hard to suppress a laugh. Finally he slid into a coughing fit that started with what Harry thought was the word "Whipped!"

"I know, I know. I'm whipped. I'm whipped by my owl, by my house elf, and my girlfriend." Harry grinned.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

AN2:All rights to Dr. Adam Sinclair, Noel MacLeod, and Peregrine Lovat are owned by Kathryn Kurtz, Mercedes Lackey, and their publishers. I am just borrowing them for a minor bit part. If you haven't read the Adept series from them, I highly recommend it. Thanks to Drakensis for correcting Peregrine's name. I couldn't find my copy of the series and drew a blank on his name, other than Peregrine.

AN3: Willen The Olive-Hand's story was borrowed from Aaran St. Vines' 'Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.' Excellent story if you want to know some Fanfic History of Magic in the Potter Universe. His stories are accessible from FanFicAuthors (dot) Net.

AN4: Sorry to take so long on this. I just couldn't get the chapter to come out the way I wanted it to after I had finally gotten my work schedule figured out to where I could write again. I hope that the next chapter won't take as long. - JaCee


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